Sonic and the Freedom Fighters -- Blue Horizon
by kkhohoho
Summary: A princess who has lost her throne. A rabbit who has lost her limbs. A squirrel who has lost everything. And a hedgehog who has everything to gain. As Doctor Eggman hurls the Acorn Kingdom into the fires of war, one has to wonder: Just what is war? And is it something anyone can truly answer?
1. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 1

_This is Sonic and the Freedom Fighters: Blue Horizon, a fanfic set to encompass elements from all incarnations of Sonic the Hedgehog (of which there are many,) into one cohesive whole. Sonic is a franchise that I love, and one which has a number of different versions to choose from, and I always wanted to see all of the different major characters and plot threads and whatnot in one place. This is my attempt at doing just that, while also aiming to bring some greater character development to the franchise and do some things I'd always wanted to do. Hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

 _ **THE ACORN KINGDOM, EARLY FALL, NOW**_

"Oh, this is NOT cool!"

Sonic hadn't asked for much. Just a pleasant day or two hanging out at the Acorn Festival before heading out to wherever his feet led him. Just doing whatever he felt like doing. And that was how he liked it.

What he hadn't counted on was a madman rising up from beneath the Earth itself in some sort of mechanical contraption with a giant drill on it. Or taking the Princess hostage. Or declaring himself ruler of the Acorn Kingdom in front of the royal castle itself. Not to mention…

"BREAKING NEWS! Doctor Robotnik, Chief Scientist of the Acorn Kingdom, has just declared himself it's new ruler, and has taken both the Princess and what appears to be a young guard in training hostage! Are you catching my good side? Please tell me you're catching my good side."

Oh yeah. That doofus. Soar the Eagle, or whatever he called himself, reporting the news in as bold and macho a manner possible. Regardless, this was bad news. Fun maybe, but still bad news, and he wasn't sure just what to do about it. Just how did he get himself into this anyway?

* * *

 _ **THE ACORN KINGDOM, EARLY FALL, THIS MORNING**_

"Sire?"

"Hm?" King Max roused himself from his thoughts. He had been thinking about a great many things, which was something of a habit for him lately, but he supposed now wasn't the time for such matters. A servant was at the feet of his throne, bowing with his head hanging low in respect. "Sir Robotnik is here to see you, as you requested."

"Ah," said the King, remembering just why he was in sitting in his throne instead of preparing for the festivities in the first place. "Thank you, Sebastian. Send him in, will you?"

"Of course, sire." The servant straightened himself and walked across the red velvet carpet within the lavish throne room towards the large twin doors as he opened them and stuck his head out before he shut them once more. "Your highness, Sir Julian Ivo Robotnik." He then opened the doors with as much grace as could be expected from a squirrel in his sixties. Standing in the doorway was a portly fellow dressed in a form-fitting outfit with a red and yellow shirt and black pants, and sporting a rather polished pair of spectacles. He stroked his thick bushy mustache as he strode forward, acting almost as he if he owned the place, though that of course wasn't the case. Not yet anyway.

"King Max!" He said, arms open as he grinned like Father Christmas. "A pleasure to see you, as always! When you said you wanted to see me, I dropped everything at once and rushed here as fast as I could! What's the occasion, my boy?"

"It's good to see you too, Julian," said Max. "However, while my servants may have led you to believe this was a matter of life or death, the truth is, this is simply more of a social call."

"Ah." Robotnik briefly looked a tad perturbed before resuming his pleasant behavior. "Well, in what way can I console you, my liege?"

"To start with," said the king, "it's about all of those new robots you created to help guard the festival. I understand that safety and security are of the utmost importance, but do we really need so many of those, those… What did you call them again?"

"SWATbots, my liege."

"Ah, yes." The king slowly folded his fingers together, sounding disgruntled as he said the name. "SWATbots. And not only do they sound like they're oppressive machines of death just from the name alone, but they also look the part. For Gaea's sake, Julian! They're more than twice the size of my subjects and they look as though they're ready to pound them into paste never mind sounding as though they've had all the emotion sucked out of them!"

"Your point, sire?"

Max slid a gloved palm over his thin, furry face, wondering how one of the smartest men he knew could be so oblivious. If he was, indeed, being so.

"My point is, Julian, I'm worried it's a bit too much. That this all is a bit too much. These new SWATbots are just the latest concern I've had to worry about. The Troopers, the Chemical Plant Zone, your plans for even stronger weapons ordinance? I know at the time I said that I was willing to take a few risks to increase the standing of my kingdom and my people with the rest of the world, but now, I'm wondering if it's truly worth it. My citizens are getting concerned, Julian. I'm getting concerned. And when the king is concerned, there is without a doubt something to be concerned about."

Robotnik took a few moments to take in a good long breath before pushing back his glasses as he started to make his case. "Your Highness. I know this all may seem a bit much, but I assure you, this is all necessary to protect the Acorn Kingdom and keep it from being a laughingstock. Now, your kingdom is a fine one, strong in tradition and history and led by a mighty, strong ruler, but that simply isn't enough. As I've told you, I come from the Federation, as most of my kind do, and, if I may speak plainly, their technology makes this place look like a dumpster! Why, even other Zones in the other Islands have already surpassed your kingdom in terms of standards of living! Starlight City, Gigalopolis, Studiopolis? Just to name a few. To be blunt your highness, without my help, your kingdom would still be stuck in the Dark Ages."

Max creased his brow as though he were starting to have a migraine. He knew that in a way, Robotnik was right, and yet in others, he was still oh so wrong. "I appreciate that Julian, but surely there can be some sort of balance. I don't just want my people to be protected; I also want them to feel protected. But I'm sure they can't rest easy when there's one of those monstrosities on every corner. And this is all especially so with the annual Acorn Festival starting this very day."

"I am aware of all of that, sir, and I understand completely. Perhaps we could reach some sort of compromise?"

"That is exactly what I was thinking. I know you mean well, Julian, and I do want what's best for my people, but I don't want to frighten them in the process. One step at a time is more than sufficient, I believe."

Robotnik nodded in approval. "Of course. That said, do you think this could wait until after the festival? That should be our topmost priority after all."

"Most certainly. For now, it can wait. But after that, I expect a full overhaul of your Implementation Program. I'm sure we can reach a compromise that will work for all of my subjects."

"Indeed, your liege." Robotnik oh so slightly pushed up his glasses, obscuring his gaze from view as though it alone in that moment could somehow betray him. "Perhaps even sooner than you think. If that will be all?"

"Yes, though I will let you know if I need anything else."

"Of course, your highness." Robotnik took a moment to give a customary bow before strolling down the carpet until he reached the twin doors. "Until then, my liege." He opened the doors and closed them behind him, making sure they were shut as tightly as he could. Once done, he was now in the castle corridors, free from repercussions and kingly decrees for the time being. He moved away from the guards keeping watch over the throne room and instead turned around the corner. As soon as he did so, and as soon as those guards were out of sight, that oh so pleasant smile turned upside down into the most frowny of frowns imaginable.

Scowling as though the grocer just ran out of the last batch of eggs, he took a transceiver out from his pocket and set it to the most secure frequency while making sure that no-one else was listening. "Snively? Yes it's me, who else could it be?! Anyhoo, there's been a change in plans. We're going to have to move up the timetable. Have everything ready to go by this evening. Oh, and do make sure to throw in some extra flourish, will you? If we're going to be doing this during their insipid festival, we might as well celebrate the occasion. What was that? I don't know, fix up the giant drill car prototype or something! Robotnik out!"

Robotnik slammed down the button on the transceiver with his thumb and slipped it back into his pocket. He continued to fume as he sulked down the corridor, but it wasn't long before he started to straighten back up. Sure, things may have not been going quite according to plan, but so what? All he would really be doing now is what he would have done in a week or so anyway. No harm done. And besides. It was all part of the game.

As he started to make his way back to his office, he noticed through a nearby window that someone was traipsing across the courtyard. Upon closer inspection, he could see that it was none other than her Highness herself, Princess Sally. Looking to have a word with daddy dearest perhaps? And about what? Just in case, he would have to look into this at one point or another, but as he continued striding down the hall with his chest puffed out and his hand generously stroking his mustache, he mused to himself in between the odd chuckle that he would soon have all the time in the world to get the truth out of her. Though depending on just what she knew, it might not even matter anyway. His chuckles turned into an outburst, confident that no matter what stood in his way, nothing could possibly stop him now.

* * *

As the King was getting ready to head into his room and practice his grand speech, he heard his loyal servant Sebastian loudly call out to him from beside the twin doors. "Sire?"

"Yes?", said Max.

"Your daughter is here to see you.

"Sally?" The king's calm and collected disposition suddenly resembled that of a hippo with a hernia. "I thought she made it quite clear that she was no longer speaking to me."

"Nonetheless," said the servant, "she has made it quite clear that she wishes to speak to you immediately."

The King still couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. "But why?"

"You'd best ask her yourself. With all due respect to your Majesty, I am just the messenger."

"Very well." Max shook his head, sighing as though he wasn't quite sure what to make of anything. "Send her in."

"As you wish, your highness." The servant turned towards the doors, his hand reaching for the handle when, not to his surprise, they seemed to fly open all by themselves. "Ah .It seems someone just didn't seem to have enough patience.

Clad in blue boots and a matching vest, Sally stormed into the throneroom, pushing her way past the guards and marching right up to the King, only stopping until they were in the same general vicinity.

The both of them stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity, the two of them wanting to say everything yet feeling as though they could say nothing. A paradox if there ever was one. This sea of awkwardness continued until, at last, someone finally saw fit to make the first move.

"Father," said Sally quietly, though less out of being shy and more because she could scarcely believe she was getting the words out after all this time.

"Daughter." Another moment of silence passed as if to almost make you believe the pair of them were mute until, finally, one of them gave. "So. I under the impression that you weren't speaking to me. When did this change, I wonder?"

Sally gulped, unsure if she could get the words out, but she just couldn't stand back and do nothing. She gripped a satchel strung around her shoulder, as if there were something precious inside that was giving her the strength to carry forward until she finally saw fit to use it. "Father." She took a step forward. "The only reason I'm speaking to you is because, well…"

"Out with it child."

"It's Robotnik."

"Oh?" King Max raised an eyebrow like raising a bridge. It was easy to learn, but it had been oh so difficult to master. "What about him?"

"Did you ever stop and think about why he agreed to come under your employ? About why he bothered to manufacture a Chemical Plant of all things? Because if I were a well to do scientist in the Federation, I wouldn't have just come over here and presented myself to you so easily. Nor is he making us feel easy. Have you seen the amount of SWATbots and Troopers out there? That's not a militia; that's half an army. And yet, there are more and more posted each day, with the only excuse being 'the populace needs protecting'. It almost makes you wonder what it really needs protecting from. Nevermind the security systems he personally has installed throughout the entire capital, against Intelligence Director Harvey Who's own recommendations."

"What are you getting at Sally?" The King straightened his back and stood his ground, almost as if he knew where this was going but wanted to see where it all ended up anyway.

"Think about it father!" she said. "Do you understand what Robotnik could do with that kind of firepower?"

"Yes. I could. And as a ruler, it is my duty not to put such mistrust onto my employees once they become such, or at least not to act on it."

"But why did you employ him in the first place, Father? Were you that desperate at a chance on the world stage that you would just throw caution to the wind?"

"Perhaps." Max's voice started to tremble, as though a door of stone sealed shut for many months was at long last starting to open up. "Perhaps I was. But perhaps if I had done this earlier, Alica wouldn't have—!"

He stopped himself right there. The both of them stood frozen in their tracks, neither able to move, both stunned as though the most meaningful thoughts had been drained out of them until there was nothing left but shock. At last, the King finally regained his nerve, as much of a struggle as it was to do so.

"Perhaps if I had, Alica would have survived." He whispered, just barely managing to get the words out out,

Sally stood there like a statue for a moment longer until the wheels began clicking together. "You mean, if the Acorn Kingdom hadn't been so stuck in the past, so isolationist, so stubborn in its' refusal to change, that maybe we would have had the means to save…" Her eyes began to cloud up as if covered with a fine mist, her hand only managing to get rid of one patch before another rolled in. "...to save mother."

"Quite." The two stood still like some sort of tapestry, one that managed to convey the concepts of grief, understanding, and desperation all in one until Max saw fit to alter the weaving. "That is why you refused to speak to me for so long, isn't it Sally? If I hadn't been so keen on holding onto the old ways, of preserving our country's traditions and customs, our way of life, then perhaps she'd still be alive. And now," he began to shout, starting to get indignant, "now that I have finally done as you so urged me to do, so that something like this among many other things might not happen again, you come in here and berate me despite having made it clear you wanted nothing to do with me for so long! I thought that at the very least, you would be grateful."

"Daddy," she started to say, before hushing it up at the last minute. "Father. I love you. I always have. And it was probably wrong and selfish and stupid of me not to talk to you after all these months. I just want to let you know how sorry I am."

"I know.

"That said." Sally closed her eyes and took a deep breath as though calling together her forces for the next round, gathering herself for another blow. "I understand why you're doing this, I truly do, but that doesn't change any of what I've said. If anything, it only makes it all a lot more foolish! I know, or at least I know now anyway, that you blame yourself for Mother's death. I blame myself too. But that's no excuse to start looking for any way to make up for that, regardless of the risks! I mean, do we even really know just who he is? What his background is? None of it adds up! It's a recipe for disaster, and you've become too blinded by sadness and remorse to see it!"

Any other ruler might have grounded their daughter on the spot for such behavior, and just several months ago, King Acorn might have been such a man. But he was no longer such a man. And as such, as he slowly opened his eyes and did his best to put aside his oncoming fury, he raised one finger and told her, in no uncertain terms, "Proof."

"Come again?"

"You heard me," said the King, not even quite sure whether to believe what he himself was saying. "If you, against all odds, can deliver to me proof that Robotnik is up to even so much as stealing cookies from the royal pantry, I will do everything in my power to investigate into him myself. Mind you, I still believe the odds of finding anything circumstantial are so low that, believe it or not, that's the reason I'm even considering letting you do this in the first place. Much as you might think otherwise, I am NOT a fool. Despite what I may have told you just a few minutes ago, I have ordered Director Who to look into Robotnik personally. One does need to be sure after all. But so far, the good Doctor has been squeaky clean. Not one of Who's or Deputy Director 's agents has found anything on him so far, or at least from those that have been sent have told me. So if you were to discover something where they have not, it would in all honesty be a miracle."

Sally wasn't quite sure what to think at first. She had believed that she was going to be sent to the stockades for sure. Perhaps that was a bit too an extreme an action, but in times past, her father was known to be somewhat extreme in his ways. Obviously, this was no longer the case. Obviously.

"You're serious?"

"Completely."

After a moment's pause, she then leaped towards him and squeezed him like a snuggly little teddy bear. "Oh thank you, daddy! Thank you thank you thank you! You won't regret this! I won't let you down!"

"Um, actually dearest, if you could let Daddy down, that would be much appreciated!"

She noticed that she had actually managed to lift her own father slightly off the floor in her jubilation, and blushing like a rose, she quickly placed him back down upon the ground in short order before slowly releasing her grip.

"Yes, quite. He brushed the dust off his uniform, as though the touch of his own daughter was in some way contagious. "In the meantime however, now that we seem to be back on speaking terms, do you think you could clean up a bit? After all, you still have your duties to attend to, and making yourself presentable for the Acorn Festival is one of them. Which I need to start getting ready for myself as a matter of fact."

"Ah. Quite." Clean herself up. Exactly. Of course. Terrific.

Just how in the name of Gaea was she going to do that?

* * *

As the sun continued to rise over the Green Hill Zone, a blue blur darted ever onwards across the checkered plains, hopping over treacherous pits, leaping up hills and mountainsides, and blazing through any obstacles that might happen to get in his way. As he continued to race across the green grass, he began to notice something rather peculiar. The checker patterns and hills became less frequent. The twisting pathways were disappearing altogether. And everything was starting to become, for lack of a better word, 'normal.' He noticed the decrease in hillsides and mountains and the increase in trees and distant villages as he sped through the plains, and only when it finally hit him did he grin like a maniac. He'd managed to finally reach it. The Wood Zone, heart of the Acorn Kingdom that ruled over all of South Westopolis Island.

He continued to dart forward like a bullet, only stopping himself when he finally reached the only proper ledge in miles. The blue hedgehog just barely kept himself from falling straight over to his death, his arms flailing about as he tried his best to regain his balance only to finally right himself at the last possible second. Wiping the sweat from his forehead in relief, he took a good long look down at the valley below. Straight at the center of it was the capital of the Acorn Kingdom, Mobotropolis. And as he rolled down the hill like a bowling ball out of control and on caffeine, he knew this was the place he wanted to be. For the next day or two anyway.

* * *

"Now just hold still, sugar!"

In a small salon in the East District of Mobotropolis, an orange rabbit in a purple dress was busy putting the finishing touches on a squirrel who in all honesty didn't seem to be sure if she should actually have been there. "Bunnie?"

"Yeah, Sal'?" She got a kit of makeup out from a shelf in the back of the salon before returning to who was at present her customer. Not that she hadn't had any guests in the past, but it wasn't exactly a hopping establishment to put it lightly.

"Thanks. For doing this I mean."

Bunnie smiled as though she were a Southern belle basking in the sunlight of a warm sunny day. "Well, it's not every day the Princess of the Acorn Kingdom comes into my shop wanting a makeover, is it? You sure you didn't want to have someone at the castle be doin' this for you?" She brought her kit over to Sally whereupon she began brushing light drops of eyeliner upon her eyelids in carefully calculated doses.

"No. To be honest, I've been feeling, I don't know, trapped I suppose."

"You, trapped? This coming from the gal who keeps on coming over every week incognito? Seems to me like you could go anywhere you please."

"You know what I mean, Bunnie. I know that one day I'm supposed to rule over the kingdom and govern the land and be the greatest ruler this country's ever seen, but sometimes, I'm just not sure if I've got what it takes. Or if I do, if it's really what I want to do with my life. And even then, that might be a moot point considering that I'm the only heir to the throne and—"

"Oh my stars!" Bunnie slapped one of her long furry orange ears with one hand as she applied some lipstick to Sally's face with the other. "Come on now, sugar. It's still gonna be years yet before you've gotta become Queen. No sense worrying about what may or may not even happen, or at least not anytime soon." She put down the kit on a nearby stool and grabbed a nearby pair of scissors, trimming the Princess' long flowing hair. "You ask me, you're makin' a whole lot of fuss about nothin'."

Sally began to fidget like a nervous wreck. "I know, but I can't help think about it anyway. What if something happens to Daddy and I'm stuck having to run the throne at sixteen? And what if I'm just not up to handling the responsibility?"

Bunnie continued to clip away at Sally's locks, leaving not a single strand of hair unclipped. "Sugar, that's something you're just goin' to have to work out yourself."

"It's more than that though." The wheels suddenly began to turn in Sally's noggin, so much so that they could practically be seen on her face. "You know about Robotnik, right?"

"How could I not? You keep tellin' me about him every time you stop by to visit."

Sally's arms folded together, her thoughts racing like wildfire. "It's just that something about him feels off. My Dad wants to believe that he came here from the Federation out of the goodness of his heart, that he truly wants to help us because he took pity on us of all things. I suppose he's just desperate to have any chance of competing with the rest of the world or even the other islands no matter how farfetched it is. But I just can't think that someone of that level of genius would come and help us for nothing in return. Maybe he just wants to be remembered for turning a third-rate kingdom into a global power, but I think he might have something else in mind. I just don't know what.'

"Well," said Bunnie, her clipping starting to slow, "whatever it is or isn't, there's no use in dwelling on somethin' that you don't even know might happen. I'm not saying you should forget about it or anything, but you shouldn't be letting this get to you. Sides, without any real proof, there's nothin' you can do."

"Proof," sighed Sally. "To be perfectly honest, when Daddy suggested the idea, I was ecstatic. And now that I'm actually thinking about it, I'm not really sure how to get it. I actually tried hacking into Robotnik's systems with Nicole before I came over, but it was a no-go. You'd think the fact that he's encrypted his systems with technology and programs that, even if I can't identify them, are still so advanced that we can't see so much as what Robotnik ate for breakfast today would be enough to tip Daddy off, but I think I'm going to need more than that."

"Uh, question sugar," said Bunnie, halting in her clipping. "Who's Nicole?"

"Oh, sorry. I must've been so distracted, I forgot I never even brought her up." Sally reached into a small satchel around her brown furry shoulder and, as though excavating a priceless heirloom, carefully pulled a small handheld computer out from its' depths.

"That's a computer, right sugar? I gotta' confess, I'm not really too good with all this fancy technology. Give me a pencil and a piece of paper any day."

Sally chuckled a bit. "That's okay, Bunnie. Nicole, say hi, won't you?"

The computer or Nicole immediately responded in as monotone and blunt a tone as possible, seemingly only interested in doing what was required and nothing else. "HI, WON'T YOU?"

"No, Nicole," said Sally, as though she were attempting to teach basic common sense to a newborn babe. "Just hi. Please?"

And like a broken record, Nicole gave the same exact result as before. "JUST HI. PLEASE?"

"Looks like Nicole here's a bit slow on the uptake," said Bunnie.

"ON THE CONTRARY," said Nicole, shocking Bunnie into silence while visibly irritating Sally, as if they'd gone through this same song and dance more than once. "I WAS ATTEMPTING TO GENERATE WHAT YOU LIFEFORMS REFERS TO AS 'HUMOR.' IT WAS MY THOUGHT THAT IF MY EXISTENCE WAS SIMPLY TO BE A MERE TOOL, I MIGHT AS WELL BE AN AMUSING ONE."

Bunnie dropped her scissors straight onto the hard wooden floor. "Holey moley! It can think?!"

"Yes," said Sally, "'she' can, thank you very much. As hard as it may be to understand, Nicole's more than just your run of the mill computer. She still doesn't have full emotions just yet, but at the very least, she's more than capable of independent thought. And she's learning by the day."

"My stars!" Bunnie mussed her fingers through her poofy peach-colored hair, almost as if to match her current state of mind. "Just where on Mobius did this contraption come from?"

Sally looked down at Nicole, like a mother remembering the day her daughter was born. "Daddy gave her to me for my birthday. He got it from an up and coming computer engineer from Starlight City. I'm still not really how he got hold of it or why. That's something else I've been trying to figure out for a while now. In any case, this was about 7 months ago, and me and Daddy, well, let's just say we still weren't talking just yet. Not after Mother. I was still indignant enough that he had to leave her right outside my bedroom!"

She giggled as though reminiscing about old times with a friend, which was in a sense what she was doing. "It was a bit silly, looking back. Especially after today. Still though, after about an hour or so of just whiling away the hours in my room out of sheer stubborn pride, I caved. I couldn't wait to see just what Daddy had bought for me, even if I was determined not to speak with him. And once I did, I think I made the best friend I've ever had. I guess now that we're back on speaking terms, that's something I'm going to have to thank him for."

"AFFIRMATIVE." Nicole's systems started to vibrate, almost as if she were in a state of happiness. At the very least, Sally would like to imagine this was the case. Who knows? Maybe she really was that happy. She'd certainly like to think so.

"Quite the story!" said Bunnie. "But that ain't gonna help you get your proof, ain't it?"

"Not really, no," said Sally. "To be honest, I'm not really sure what else to do. I mean, if I really wanted to, I could always waltz in like an idiot and say I'm here to inspect his work, that I'm a big fan or something, but…"

Bunnie filled up a spray bottle with water from the nearest sink, the shock of it all finally starting to wear off. "But what?"

Just then, the wheels in Sally's head began to turn like clockwork. As if in unison, Nicole's systems began to whirr, as though she had the same idea.

"That's it." Sally hopped out of her chair in a flash of a genius, or at least she was almost certain that was what it was. "The air ducts."

"What about the air ducts?"

"Don't you see? Everything else is going to be guarded, and now that I think about it, even if I tried to just tell Robotnik I'm only there to see his work, he'd probably just shut me out anyway if he really is up to something. But with the air ducts, I can sneak in with him being none the wiser.

"You sure about this, Sal? If Robotnik's up to something like you say, then if he catches on to what you're doing, you're toast."

"Maybe. But I've got to try. And besides, I'm not going in alone."

"That so?" Now she was curious. "Who'd you have in mind?"


	2. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 2

"Oui! Have mercy, mercy!"

In a training hall located in the barracks next to Castle Acorn, a young coyote and soldier was busy practicing his craft with another older coyote, determined to prove that he had what it took to join the Royal Guard.

Or at least that's what he thought he was doing.

In reality, he was desperately blocking every one of his opponent's blows, meeting his training sword with his own as haphazardly as possible. He was managing to defend himself, but rather than accomplishing this like a pro, he was instead handling this like a nervous scaredy cat desperate to prove he he could hold his own despite wanting to be anywhere but here.

"Mercy?!" shouted the superior swordsman in a somewhat foreign accent as he continued, who in sharp contrast to the other showed not the slightest trace of fear. "Is that what you are expecting from your enemies? Mercy?! Because rest assured, they are not going to give it!"

"Oui Father," said the younger coyote in the same accent, "I understand, but do you still think you could, shall we say, ease things up a bit?"

"Ease things up?!" His father was practically furious as he began savaging Antoine's practice blade, assaulting and battering it until at last, he broke it in two. This same blow promptly knocked Antione straight to the floor whereupon he ironically found himself at the mercy of his father, pointing his practice blade right at his throat.

"Understand this, Antoine," he began to say in no uncertain times. "If you wish to protect this kingdom, your princess, your liege, you need to know the reality of things. And the reality is that in battle, there is no mercy. If you show them even the slightest trace of weakness or remorse, then you are dead. They will not 'ease up'. They will not back off. They will relentlessly push forward until they achieve their goal, and the only way to prevent that may be putting your hand to your hilt and running them through the gullet."

"But," pleaded Antoine, "what if I don't want to run them through the gullet? Or if I don't want to risk putting in an opportunity to do the gutting?!" He then winced and smiled like a man who knew from the very beginning that he probably shouldn't have said what he just said.

At first, Antoine's father seemed about to erupt like a mighty volcano and take everything around him with it, but he soon managed to calm himself down as he slowly placed his blade back in its' sheathe. He then partly kneeled down and offered Antoine a hand, which he immediately accepted before he found himself unable to come back from a place of no return. He brought Antoine back up and began walking with him over towards a bench, as though they were two strained individuals trying to make amends.

"Son," he began to say. "I know you are scared. Everyone is scared to some extent before they see a taste of real combat."

"Oui," said Antione, as the two began sitting down on the bench. "I know this."

"And yet still you hesitate. Still you hold back and tremble in fear. My son, if there is something troubling you, please tell me. Just what is filling you with such dread?"

"Nothing!" Antoine blurted out the word as though it were instead everything at once. "It is nothing at all! Everything is a-OK hunkey-dorey! Yes sir! Nothing to be concerned about!"

"Antoine," his father growled, "if you are lying to me…"

"AH!" Antoine leapt up off of his seat, only barely managing to stay standing once he was off of the bench. "I confess! I confess!"

"And just what are you confessing to?", asked his father.

Antoine's legs were practically knocking as though he were sure this couldn't possibly end well. "It is everything!", shouted Antoine, throwing up his arms as though he had kept in an entire sea of troubles and, now finally being given proper prompting, was at long last finally letting it all out. "I am afraid of heights, I am afraid of approaching a snarling animal, I am afraid of touching poison ivy, etc etc etc! It truly seems at times there is nothing I am not afraid of in some capacity. And I do not know how to deal with it. I do not know how I am to possibly be brave. How can I possibly be courageous and live up to your reputation when I am so afraid? And that is what makes me afraid most of all."

His father took a good long look at Antoine, almost as if wondering whether or not his son had been swapped with another in the maternity ward, but he soon slowly rose out of his seat and gave Antoine a firm and quite clearly unexpected pat on the shoulder.

"Antoine. Courage is not being unafraid all of the time. In fact, even I am afraid at times."

"Really?" Antoine had almost believed he had found a kindred spirit. "Are you even afraid of your own shadow?"

"Um, no," said Antoine's father, "not exactly." Antoine's spirits sank, his hopes of finding someone to relate to and in his own father no less dashed. "But it is true that everyone is afraid of something, and has something that they need to overcome. For many people, this could be a struggle of infinite magnitude. But you, Antoine. You are not most people.

"I am not?", asked Antoine, looking up at his Father with just the slightest shred of hope.

"No," said his father, proud as could be. "You are a Coolette. As such, I am completely confident that you can find it in yourself to overcome your fears and become one of the greatest knights this Kingdom has ever seen."

"Do you truly believe so?", asked Antoine, starry-eyed.

"Must you even ask?", he said.

As Antoine hugged his papa and as father and son shared a bonding moment for the ages, Sally entered the training hall with grit and determination. Which was somewhat weakened when she saw the man she was about to ask to possibly put his just burgeoning career in jeopardy having a rather private moment. Still, she had work to do. "Uh, General Coolete?"

Antoine's father didn't seem to notice Sally at first, but his large tattered ears soon picked up her dulcet tones, and he immediately pushed away his son and folded his arms like a so called tough guy determined to keep his image intact. "Uh, ahem, yes Princess? Is there something you wish to speak to me about?"

"Not exactly," said Sally. "I'd actually like to talk to Antione if that's all right."

"Oui?!" Antoine was more than a tad alarmed that the Princess wanted to actually speak to him of her own accord. The two had never been on bad terms certainly, but they had so far only seemed to know each other by passing one another on his way to training every day, or whenever his and her parents used to set up play dates for one another when they were kids. But here and now, he truly had no idea why she would want to speak to him of all people.

"You wish to speak to my Antoine?", said Senior Coolete. He stroked his long white beard, smirking as though he were beginning to plot something most devious. "Oh ho. Could it be that all of those play dates from when you two were still in diapers are finally paying off?"

It took a moment for either Antoine or Sally to catch on, but catch on they did. "NO!" and "It's not like that!", and "We're just friends!" and the like were tossed and thrown around so much that one would almost swear they were playing football, and all Senior Coolete could do was chuckle in amusement and being to stride away as though his work was done. "So you say. Well, it is not my place to interfere in such matters. I shall be seeing you at supper, Antoine. In the meantime, Sally, please, you and Antoine enjoy your 'talk'. Oh, the lengths children will go to these days…" And as he closed the door to the hall behind him and finally passed out of sight, all Sally and Antoine could do was wonder how such a man as him could possibly have become the General of the kingdom's entire military force.

"So," said Sally. "Your father seems, shall we say, eccentric, doesn't he?"

"Ah," said Antoine, scratching the back of his neck. "You could say that. He is not normally this way, but every now and then, he has his moments. Uh, you said that you want to speak to me?"

"Oh, yes. There's actually something important I need to talk with you about?"

"Important?" Antoine pointed towards himself as though he were still somewhat in disbelief at the very notion that the Princess would need to talk to him about anything. "Me?"

"Yes, you. The truth is, this could get a bit dangerous."

"Dangerous?!" Antoine suddenly began wringing his hand in terror, though he quickly hid them behind his back in the hopes that the Princess hadn't noticed. "Ahem, if you do not mind me asking, how dangerous?"

"Look, Antoine. I know that you have certain reservations about this sort of thing. Which, for someone in your profession, is honestly a bit hypocritical if you don't mind me asking…"

"I DO MIND!" shouted Antoine, pouting like a cross child.

"…but", said Sally, not noticing Antoine's impromptu remark in the slightest, "you're the only person I could ask who would not only possibly agree to this, but who I can trust."

Antoine was taken aback. "Come again?"

"You heard me. I know we don't know each other that well, but I do know that in spite of that, you're someone I think I can count on. And in case things get dicey, I'm going to need to need you to back me up. Now, I could just order you as Princess. That is my right. But I'm not telling you as a Princess. I'm asking this as a friend. Can you please help me?"

Antoine wasn't sure what to say. The Princess of all people was asking him to do something that for all he knew might result in her getting reprimanded or him getting ejected from the military, if not worse. By all accounts, it would probably have been best to just politely decline and walk away. No reason to get himself involved and risk personal or even bodily injury. None.

Except there was a reason. And it was standing right in front of him.

He stuttered, unsure if he could get the words out, trying his darnedest to utter them as his legs knocked and his hands quivered until finally, at last, he shouted, "YES!" Sally was of course taken aback by this rather strange behavior on Antoine's part, but like a politician who had just suffered a major self-induced blunder, he took a moment to compose himself, get himself together, and rephrase himself as maturely and confidentially as he possibly could. "Yes. Your Highness. I would be honored to serve you however I could."

Sally then squeed and grasped Antoine in a fierce hug, so fierce that he wasn't sure if he'd still be able to breathe if she kept this up. Not that he'd have to worry. She slowly retracted her hug and, knowing how hard this must have been for him, quietly said, "Thank you, Antoine."

"Not a problem, your highness."

"Just call me Sally. And THAT is an order."

"Very well then, Sally. But I do have one question before we begin."

"Of course."

"Just what exactly are we going to be doing anyway?"


	3. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 3

As the citizens of Mobotropolis began gearing up for the grand Acorn festival, moving to and fro throughout the city in desperate bids to make sure everything was prepared for, one little two-tailed fox was looking down at a city map he had just recently purchased while trying to make his way through. He occasionally glanced up, noticing the stone houses and paved roads that resembled something from an exquisitely crafted painting from several hundred years ago, but for the most part, he was focused firmly on his map, relying on the information it provided rather than his own two eyes to tell him where he was going.

This would turn out to be a mistake.

As he continued wandering throughout the city, his eyes still focused intently on the map, it was no wonder that he could only barely notice a voice shouting rather loudly at him to "GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

It was only at the very last second that he finally looked up, but he was too late. The stoppable force hit the movable object, and it was only due to the former trying his best to pour on the metaphorical breaks that he didn't send the fox flying away to kingdom come. As is, he found himself tangled up with what he could at last observe to be some sort of blue spiky rodent as they fumbled and bounced forward down the street until they came to a dead stop, with the blue newcomer firmly on top. After a moment, he quickly noticed the rather compromising situation he was in and, like a flash, rose up and dusted himself off, doing his best to pretend as though this wasn't anything out of the ordinary.

"Sorry about that!" The blue hedgehog shook the quills on his back so fast they appeared to vibrate. "Really though, you should look out where you're going! You keep on keeping your head down like that and who knows who you're gonna run into you next?"

"Huh?" At this point, the little two-tailed fox was still laying flat on his back, with everything around him happening so fast that he wasn't quite sure what to make of anything.

"Hey now!", said the blue hedgehog. "You gonna be lying there forever? I don't got all day you know."

"What now?" The fox was a bit unsure whether or not the hedgehog was talking to him until, as if the light of realization had finally dawned on him, snapped to attention, "Oh! Sorry." He quickly stood back up and dusted himself off, putting his hands behind his back as though he had something to be ashamed about. "Sorry about that," he said.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I like to live in the moment, you know what I mean? No harm done. Sides, I was moving pretty fast. Not everything can really keep up with me, and that's a fact."

"Wow!", said Tails. "How fast do you think you can go?"

"Eh, I dunno," said the blue hedgehog. "Pretty fast? Hey, where are your folks anyway? They've gotta be lookin' for ya. You don't think they'd really leave you alone like this, would they?"

The blue hedgehog couldn't possibly have known this, but he had in fact just shot a proverbial bullet straight at the young fox's heart. The two-tailed fox suddenly became as stiff as a stone statue, only starting to move again as his eyes welled up, heralding the grand entrance of the waterworks at full force.

"Whoa, hey!", said Sonic. "Take it easy, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! What'd I do?!" He gave some thought to just abandoning the kid and quitting while he was ahead, but if this kid had some sort of issues with his parents, he couldn't just leave him there. No matter how much he wanted to.

Thankfully, there was nothing to truly be concerned about. The kid soon brought the waterworks down to a minimum, and his tear ducts mostly closed like a repairman fixing a leak. "Sorry," he said. It's just…" He was trying his best to bring the words out, but they just didn't seem to be coming, as if something were forcing them back down inside his throat.

"Hey kid, look, if I did something to upset you…"

"Please," said the fox, "I'm fine." He then tried again pressing twice against his throat in the hopes that that might help somewhat, and like a miracle, he at last managed to whisper in a volume just loud enough for the hedgehog to hear. "My parents are dead."

The blue hedgehog nearly couldn't believe it. If anything were to shock him out of his swagger, that would be it. "Oh man. Look, I'm sorry, really. I didn't know. If I did, just, oh man."

The fox tried his best to move on, wiping away one last tear from his eye. "It's OK, really. It's been a long time since, you know. About eight months now."

"Gaia. Uh, I really don't want to make this worse than I already have, but if you don't mind me asking…"

"Oh," said the fox, immediately catching on to what Sonic was getting at. "It was some sort of virus. I got lucky, but they…" He started to tear up again, but did his best to shut them off like closing a sieve. "Since then, I've been living on my own. North Westside Island isn't part of the Acorn Kingdom. It's mostly just a bunch of wilderness, with some villages scattered here and there. So there wasn't really anyone who could look after me. Or wanted to. Since then, I've been on my own."

"Oh man." The hedgehog briefly closed his eyes as if deep in thought, but almost as if he were undergoing an entire thought process in the blink of an eye, they shot open like a bullet from a gun, and a grin flashed onto his face as if, regardless of what the fox had in mind, he wouldn't take no for answer. "That settles it!" He said. "You're my new little bro!"

After imagining for a moment that he could not possibly have heard that, the two-tailed fox was suddenly flabbergasted. Of all of the things he could have been expecting, this wasn't even at the bottom of the list. "Come again?"

"You heard me! I can't just leave someone like that wandering around on his own. Liable to get himself hurt. And that just wouldn't sit well with my conscience."

"You're serious." The fox rubbed his eyes, finally starting to realize that he was not in fact daydreaming.

"You bet your chilidogs I'm serious. Sides, my cousin did the same sort of thing. Guess it runs in the family."

After it had at last fully sunk in, the fox slowly but surely became, to put it mildly, befuddled. "Uh, okay. Thanks, I guess."

"Now, what we're gonna do is get you back over to my folks on Christmas Island soon as possible. I wasn't gonna be goin' home for a long time yet, but I can't have to be worrying about you all the time."

"Oh," said the fox, who was busy standing around like a hopeless yokel who wasn't quite sure just what to think. He'd been perfectly fine just wandering about the islands on his own, but he'd be lying if he said he hadn't been a little lonely. Okay, maybe more than a little.

"Hey, don't worry about it! My folks are great, and trust me, they make the best chili dogs you've ever laid eyes on! And besides, we don't gotta leave today!"

"Oh. Is that so?"

"Course! Heck, I bet you came here for the same reason I did, didn't you?"

"You mean, the festival?"

"You betcha," said the hedgehog, giving the fox a thumbs up. "Until then, let's just kick back and enjoy the festivities, huh?"

Tails shrugged his shoulders, not exactly having the best of counter-proposals here. "Uh, yeah, I guess."

"Hey, show a bit more optimism. Oh, by the way, my name's Sonic. Sonic the hedgehog."

"Oh! Uh, my name's Tails. Which, well, I guess that's kind of obvious." Tails pointed towards two twin tails stemming from his rump, waving about in perfect unison.

"Huh. Sonic briefly eyed the tails before thinking nothing of it. "Well, it isn't any stranger than a blue hedgehog, huh? Anyway, let's get going, shall we?" Like a flash, he grabbed hold of Tails and shot off round the corner and down the street, right over to his newest favorite destination; the local chilidog stand. He ran right up to the vendor and told him in no uncertain terms, "Two chilidogs to go please, and make it snappy!" The grizzled grizzly simply grunted as he turned around like the nigh-savage bear he was and stomped into the back. "I'm waiting!", said Sonic, like a spoiled brat who nonetheless was fully confident that whoever he was ticking off would bring his precious gift ever sooner as long as he made enough of a show of it.

Tails meanwhile was busy looking at the splendid vista that was Mobotropolis. Towering towers that practically reached into the heavens, small yet well-crafted homes and huts that wouldn't look too out of place in an artbook, and last but certainly not least, a rather noticeable array of robots practically bootstrapping around the city. They were of two types; one tall, dark, wide, and imposing with domed heads and red visors, and another that was just as tall, but considerably lankier with a nonetheless capable and wiry build, with spiked helmets atop their heads and deadly rifles always at their sides. The citizens weren't sure what to make of this, their expressions like a child who wasn't sure whether or not his father was protecting him or instead abusing him in the worst way possible. Tails was starting to worry about whether or not today was the right day to come to Mobotropolis, despite wanting nothing more than have just one day of pure enjoyment and fun.

"Uh, Sonic?", he asked. Sonic himself was tapping his foot on the ground like a woodpecker in moderation as he leaned his elbows against the hotdog stand. He appeared somewhat disinterested in what anyone had to say, at least until he got his fill.

"Not now lil bro. Sonic's still waiting on his dogs." He then called out to the back like the angry customer he was. "I'M WAITING!" Just then, out came the grizzly with two chilidogs as promised, though he looked as if he were about to break them in half. "Ah!", said Sonic! "Now that's more like it!" He then took one chilidog and forced it into Tails' gloved hands, with Tails not quite sure what to make of it. "Eat up lil bro! You're about to taste Gaea's greatest gift to Mobiankind!" He then snatched the other chilidog himself and wolfed it down like a vacuum, resulting in the fastest eaten chilidog alive. He then rubbed his stomach as though he were using a waxer, as happy as a superfast hedgehog could be. "Now that's a chilidog! Delish!"

At that moment, Tails hoped that now that Sonic was apparently no longer hungry, he'd up for some idle conversation. "So, Sonic…"

"That's big bro, lil bro! We're bros now, so you always call me big bro!"

"Uh, okay, big bro." Tails decided that it was best to just roll with it, while also sniffing his chili dog to see if it was edible. "Big bro, don't things around here seem a bit weird to you?"

"How so?" said Sonic.

"Well, you did notice the domed-headed robots of death, right?" Tails took a bit of his dog, said bite not distracting him one minute from the conversation at hand. "Not to mention the robotic soldiers with rifles in their hands? Not that I mean anything by it, but you'd think that wouldn't exactly be easy to miss."

"Oh." For the first time, Sonic was bothering to pay attention to anything outside of his and Tails' hemisphere, and what he saw was indeed a mite disturbing. Not that it really mattered. "Eh, nothing to worry about. Sides, it's not our problem. No big deal. And if anything happens, it'll always sort itself out. When was the last time there was anything really happening around these parts?"

"I suppose." Tails was quite sure that there WAS something to worry about, but he was willing to let it go for now if only for Sonic's sake, and he and Sonic started to walk throughout throughout the city. "So, big bro, just how did you get to be, well, you?"

"Eh, I just am. I've always been this way. And there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"Uh, okay, but I guess what I mean is, how did you get to be the world's fastest ball of spikes to ever live?"

"Funny." On the contrary, Sonic was clearly not finding it funny at all, though he quickly let the matter go as Tails took another bite of his dog. "I don't know really. I guess I've just always been like this. My parents had a heck of a time trying to raise me, that's for sure. What're you supposed to do with a kid who could eat a couple dozen chilidogs in 30 minutes? The only reason I only had the one was because I've only got 20 bucks left, and I didn't really want to waste It all."

"Uh-huh. Well, I guess it's not that hard to believe. I mean, it's not every day you see a fox born with two tails. Which, uh, isn't something I like to talk about really."

"And why's that?" Now Sonic was getting curious.

"Well, it's just, I used to get picked on growing up. A lot. It was as if having an extra tail was enough to make someone a pariah."

"Pariah? That's a pretty big word for an eight year old. I'm not even sure I know it!"

"I'm twelve," said Tails. "Even if I don't look it."

"Whoa! Just a few years younger than me! Still, young enough to be my lil bro."

"Uh, thanks?" Tails knitted his eyebrows, honestly not sure if she should felt insulted. "But yeah, things weren't always too great back at home. All the other kids would pick on me and tease me and call me the two-tailed wonder. If only they could see what these puppies can do."

"What was that?" Sonic zoned out for a bit like a new-age hippie as he started to gradually lose interest in spite of himself.

"Uh, nothing. Anyway, I was just traveling about, trying to find some place to call home, and…" he looked at Sonic, his eyes starting to mist up again before rubbing it away, "maybe a new family. Thanks by the way. If nothing else, it means a lot."

"Hey, nothing for it!" Sonic patted Tails on the back, his face beaming with pride and self satisfaction. Also ego. Mostly ego. "I couldn't just leave you there all by yourself! And besides, being an only child sucks! No-one to hang out with or pull pranks on, no-one to pin the blame on when you're raiding the pantry, etc. Not that it matters much now anyway, but still."

Tails was less than amused. "Uh-huh."

"But really though. "Sonic slowed down in his stride just a titch as if some sort of layer was starting to oh so slowly melt away, "I always did want a lil bro. I won't admit this to anyone but my new lil bro, but it was getting kind of lonely just being by myself all the time. Left home about a year ago. I'd always been restless, always been a thrillseeker, but I think now, I was finally ready to just set out on my own and see what there was to see. Get out there, make my mark, see the world!" He gestured towards his red and white sneakers as though they were the center of attention. "And I had the means to do it! So here I am, touring the world and having fun while I'm at it! And as far as I'm concerned, a big old festival is all about fun! Well, once it starts anyway. When is that supposed to be again?"

"Uh, this evening. "Right now, they're still setting up and getting prepared."

"That explains why I'm not having any fun," said Sonic. Here's hoping I get some later. I'm itching for some excitement!"

Just then, in the depths of the nearest ally, a knife as sharp as a needle gleamed in the dark shade before it and its' owner leaped out in the sunlight like a wild animal, baring his teeth and pointing his knife at Tails (who had yelped in terror) and Sonic (who couldn't even be bothered to take this joker seriously,), while making sure no-one else was around. He'd chosen this place well. It was a near abandoned, dead part of town where nearly no-one bothered to come except those who had never been. Not even the robots often stepped foot here, and that suited Sonic and Tails' assailant just fine. Throw in a few narrow alleyways and you had the perfect locale for a robbery.

"Raise them!", said the would-be robber, his bushy tail bristling as he tried his best to let the two know he meant business.

"You ask me," said Sonic, spinning his finger sideways in a circle near his head, "this squirrel's nuttier than nutmeg."

Tails slowly started to raise his arms in compliance. "Yeah, but he does have the knife."

"Eh, no biggy. To be honest, the only reason he's still standing is cause I was humoring the poor guy. Seriously, who tries to actually mug someone like that in this day and age? 'Your money or your life?' Talk about out of style!"

The squirrel wasn't sure what to make of this, with one eye starting to twitch like a water balloon threatening to burst. "HEY!", he shouted. "YOU TWO GONNA TAKE ME SERIOUSLY?!"

"Not while you're pulling that sthick I'm not!", said Sonic. "Heck, you wanna come at me with somethin' a bit more high grade, I'll wait, and it's not something I do every day!"

"THAT DOES IT!" The squirrel started to growl and rage, preparing to charge with his teeth bare as Tails' tails started to whir behind him out of instinct and Sonic got ready to move it, but as it turned out, all of that would be quite mute.

Just as the squirrel was ready to pounce, in came from right behind him a double-sided metallic face that proceeded to quite promptly clobber him in the head. A few moments of dazed awareness aside, he was out like a light.

"Oh," said Tails, as if suddenly believing there was nothing to truly worry about. And as for the squirrel, his own assailant, who was right behind, became all the more clear. He was a tall lean rabbit with thick gray fur, and as he loosened the cuff on his red jacket with one hand, he rested the mace on his shoulder with the other, all while seeming to be at the perfect state between being battle ready and calm as a mountain. "That takes care of that," he said, as solemn as a gray bunny wielding a giant bludgeoning object and wearing bluejeans and a white undershirt could be. "You okay?"

"Wow," said Tails, barely managing to conceal his shock and wonder. Whereas all Sonic could do was tap his foot like a jackhammer in frustration. "You know, I appreciate the 'save' and all, but we didn't need saving. I could've handled it."

"Somehow," said the rabbit, "I don't think that's what's important here, but to each their own." He then turned to Tails. "You okay kid?"

"Uh, just fine," said Tails. "Thanks by the way. That was pretty cool."

"Well," said Sonic, "maybe. Just a bit."

The rabbit was less than amused. "Uh-huh. You know, even if you somehow didn't need saving, you could still stand to be a tad grateful. Just a thought."

Sonic tapped his foot in agitation, as though Johnny's rebuke was an affront to his very person. "I'll be grateful when there's something to be grateful for. As is, you didn't do anything I couldn't have done better."

"Uh, big bro," said Tails, "look, maybe you could have, but the fact is, he still knocked the guy out. You might as well show a bit of common Mobian decency."

"Oh fine." Sonic begrudgingly extended his hand as though it had to be extracted. "Uh, thanks, I guess. Sort of."

The rabbit was at first hesitant and for good reason, but before long, he took Sonic's hand and shook it as firmly as he could. "Well, that's a step forward I guess. That's something. Oh, I'm Johnny by the way. Nice to meet you. Mostly."

"Great, met you. Now if you could promptly skedaddle, that would be great."

"BIG BRO!", shouted Tails. Sonic, not expecting such temper out of his little bro, practically shrunk in fear.

"Oy, fine," said Sonic, even if he didn't really want to say it. "Name's Sonic. Nice to meet you I suppose. Look, I have a little angel with two tails hovering underneath my shoulder, so do you just want to get a chilidog or something? Make it look like we're playing nice?"

And all Johnny could do was slide his furry palm over his face out of consternation. "You were dropped on your head as a kid, weren't you?"

Sonic was completely oblivious. "What does that have to do with anything?" Meanwhile, Tails, NOT being anything but oblivious, couldn't help but stifle a small chuckle in spite of himself.

Johnny pinched his brow, wondering when he could just get on with his life. "Look, I'm getting pretty hungry and I am running low on cash. Think we can just get somethin' to eat and try to this start this over on the right foot?"

"Eh, sure. 'Sides, I'm already hankering for another dog. Might as well."

"Uh," sorry about this," said Tails softly to Johnny. "My  
big bro' can be a bit, uh, eccentric, as I'm quickly finding out."

"Eccentric? More like he's got his head up his ass."

"Uh, that too."

"Well, whatever." Johnny then raised his voice, done lowering his tone and now back to talking out in the open. "Let's get going I guess." He then started to walk towards the nearest chili dog stand, calm and steady like a tortoise of all things.

"Oh yeah!", said Sonic, "now we're talking!" Sonic of course did not even think of pretending to be the slowest thing alive and so simply sped on his way, leaving Tails and Johnny to hoof it. To which all Tails could so was simply smile like a family member trying to apologize for the black sheep of the family. "Uh, he's funny that way. I suppose."

"I suppose."


	4. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 4

"Antoine, if you don't quit your whimpering, I'm going to be seriously tempted to plant my boot in your face. Understand?"

Sally and Antoine were crawling through an air-duct as per the plan. Antione had been doing his best impression of a whiny scaredy-cat, though to be fair, it was less of an impression and more of a case of the genuine article. As they continued to crawl further and further into the ducts leading to Robotnik's laboratory, he had in turn continued to emit whines of greater and more frequent intensity, until at last, at Sally's insistence, they had finally ceased. "I am truly sorry, Sally," he said. "It is just that I have, shall we say, issues."

"I'll say. Anyway, we should be getting close to the main lab now. Let's take a look below, shall we?" Sally began looking through the open slits of the duct into the lab beneath her, much to Antoine's protest.

"But Sally," whispered Antoine, "what if you fall through? What if they see you?"

"Relax, Antoine."

"It is easy for you to say," Antoine whimpered. "You do not have what my doctors call a 'neurosis.'" But at this point, Sally could care less. She was much more interested in what was going on below, as two scientists in labcoats were working on completing some sort of device. One of the scientists was a slightly chubby pig who seemed like he'd be in good company with Antoine, while the other was a canary ever so intent on her work, pushing a pencils' eraser to the tip of her beak in thought.

"Uh, Tekno?" The pig was periodically wringing his hands in between bouts of working on the device as though he were a nervous wreck. "You don't think this is a horribly awful bad idea, do you?"

"What's a horribly awful bad idea, Porker?", said Tekno, not even bothering to look at him yet still sounding completely sincere nonetheless.

Porker gestured towards the large glass cylinder they were practically sweating away at, as if only a complete dunce couldn't get the point. "Well, this!" The device itself was some sort of large glass tube with metallic bases that connected it to the floor and ceiling respectively, with a nearby control console that was presumably used for working the darned thing. "You can't honestly say that anything good can come of this, can you?"

"Come of what." Tekno was practically smiling as though she were completely oblivious. As Sally kept listening, she reached into her satchel and pressed a button on Nicole, activating its' in-built recorder. She was positive that she might find some of that fabled proof she was looking for.

"This!", said Porker, almost as if trying to explain basic relativity to a child. "The roboticizer! That's what's a horribly awful bad idea!"

"Oh." Tekno only seemed to be mildly off-put. Not that really she said anything. Tekno was, shall one say, unusual to say the least, and Porker couldn't say he'd ever met anyone quite like her. She was supposed to have some sort of 'disorder', but as for just what it was, he could never be quite sure. She certainly wasn't forthcoming with it at the very least.

Porker went on. "I mean, think about it. According to Robotnik, this thing is supposed to be something that can help save the wounded and increase the lifespans of the elderly, but I've read up on it as much as I could. The original roboticizer was created by one of the most famous scientists who's ever lived, 'Uncle' Chuck, and while the guy meant well, he still made a device that removed its' test subjects wills by accident. Sure, he didn't mean for it to turn out that way, but who means anything really? The point is, we're creating a glorified execution chamber for Mobians who so much as stick a toe out of line."

"Porker." Tekno folded her arms and opened her beak, but the words came out carried no malice or ill-intent meant other than pure utter honesty,which was often commen with her. "No offense intended, and I really mean that, but would you please kindly get to the point?"

Porker pinched his brow, wondering how on Gaea's green Mobius she hadn't gotten it already. Or did she ? "Look. We agreed to come over to Knothole to help Robotnik turn the Acorn Kingdom into something respectable for this day and age, and to show what we could do. And what have we done? Help him build an army of dealers of death he charitably calls 'guards', draw up part of the plans for a Chemical Plant of all things, and, yes, put the finishing touches on something that could easily be used for the wrong reasons. Haven't you thought about any of this?"

"I have. Tekno's expression was as placid and un-changing as ever, betrayed by her frustrated and loud voice. "But the fact is that we don't know for sure just what he is and isn't up to, and if we even so much as attempt to tell the King of all people any of this, Robotnik might have us shot on the spot, providing he isn't the jovial father figure he poses as. And if we stop working, Robotnik's bound to get suspicious. Or he might just get someone else to do the job. Best to placate that man until we've found a workable solution."

"How is just doing whatever he wants until answers arrive somehow somewhen a workable solution?"

"It's the only one I've got!" Tekno snapped, her cool aloof demeanor faltering ever so briefly. Porker was taken aback like a small child who had finally been reprimanded by his parents for reasons that as a child might have in part escaped him, but at last made some sense. Porker shut his eyes and scratched his head with his gloved hand, wondering if maybe she had a point.

"Oy. Look. Maybe there's still some part of Robotnik in there that's actually decent. Maybe there's still that part of him we followed him up here in the first place for. But if he's not on the up and up, then maybe we should quit while we're up ahead."

Just then, a rather familiar and booming voice from a sliding door that just happened to open resounded throughout the entire room like a cold, chilling wave. "Oh, I don't think that's going to be an option. But you have just become eligible for permanent long-term employment!"

Standing in the doorway, not that Sally could see anyway, was none other than himself, with his ever not so faithful first in command Snively and actually oh so faithful Deputy Chief Scientist Grimer at his side. Tekno attempted to behave as though not a single feather had been ruffled, but Porker was a tad more frantic. "Oh, hey, Dr. Robotnik sir!", he said, tugging on his collar as he quickly became a sweaty little piggy. "What a surprise! We, uh, we weren't expecting back you so early, especially not this time of day!"

"Quite. However, the fact is that today is a very important day. So important I can't risk anyone screwing it up. Especially those who I have just learned could be turncoats.

"And just what is so important?" said Tekno.

"Why, what else?", said Robotnik, his mouth grinning like a maniac. "Regicide."

Sally gaped. She couldn't quite believe her ears, but at the same time, it only served to confirm what she'd to some extent believed all along. She just thought he wouldn't be this explicit about it."

"What are they saying?", whispered Antoine, his teeth starting to chatter. "Please do tell me I did not hear what I thought I heard."

Meanwhile, down below, Porker was horrified. And outraged. But mostly horrified. "You can't be serious," he muttered.

"Oh please, no need to get so worked up. After all, I'm not actually planning to kill the king. That was simply shock value. I just couldn't quite resist you see.

"Oh." Porker wasn't really sure whether he should have been relieved or pissed off to no end.

"Although," said Robotnik, stroking his large busty brown mustache, "I am still intent on a hostile takeover, that much is certain."

"You mean a coup," said Tekno.

"Precisely. And thanks to you two most wonderful assistants, I have the means to do it and in half the time I thought I would! If I weren't going to be outlawing paid employment, then you two would most certainly be getting a raise!"

Porker started to piece it all together. "So I was right. Wasn't I? The swatbots and the troopers. The roboticizer. The new surveillance system. None of it was ever meant to help the Acorn Kingdom. You just wanted to take it over!"

"Well said. Of course, I can't actually risk any of this getting out, nor can I let two of my finest scientists and engineers simply wander around freely after starting to question my authenticity. That just wouldn't be prudent."

"Let us cease with the formalities, shall we?" Tekno's face was still oh so calm, but her eyes were practically burrowing straight into Robotnik's soul. "Just what do you intend to do with us? If I may ask."

"That's easy. I could just robotize you, but as you no doubt know by now, the Robotizizer saps anyone of their free will. In terms of your usefulness as scientists, you'd be no better than paperweights. Instead, I'm just going to lock you up for who knows long while forcing you to continue to work for me until your backs break. And if you don't cooperate, then at least I'll still get a couple of nifty paperwights out of it."

This was bad. Sally was witnessing what was essentially full blown treason, and while she couldn't quite blame the scientists for this, she could easily blame Robotnik. Still, as much as she wanted to strangle his neck, she had work to do. She had the proof she needed. All that she had to do now was turn around, crawl back to the royal palace, and show Daddy his precious proof before things could possibly get any worse.

And then Robotnik had to open his big fat mouth.

"Although, you two aren't actually the reason I am here. No, I'm here for something entirely different. Pest control. If you will Snively?"

The short, bald, long-nosed Snively grinned like a shark about to chomp down on his prey. "With pleasure sir." Before any single person had the chance to do anything, Snively whipped out a laser blaster concealed within his shirt and fired it at the air ducts, though not before lowering one of the settings. The laser was like a finely sharpened scalpel designed to meticulously cut away whatever it was aimed at and didn't leave much to chance. All it took then was one deft yet precise flick of the fingers from Snively and the laser promptly blasted a small section of the air ducts in front of Sally, prompting a scream from Antoine that was more akin to the cry of a little girl than anything else. And before Sally could even attempt to run or rather crawl like hell, Snively pointed his blaster straight at her. The jig was up.

Robotnik was howling with laughter. To him, this just may have been better than TV. "Oh, this is rich! And here I thought I'd have to haul you away in chains, but here she is, the princess to the Acorn Kingdom herself, right at my doorstep!"

"The timing couldn't be any better," said Grimer, with a smile as slimy as his green slimly skin. "Couldn't it sir?"

"Quite right Grimer. Quite right."

Porker and Tekno couldn't quite believe their eyes, but there she was, right above them for all to see. They were a bit too flabbergasted to say much of anything really, though if they were going to say anything useful, it would be far too late to do so.

"Oh, Snively?", said Robotnik. "Do take care of the other one, won't you?"

Snively didn't have to say another word. With relish, he took aim at the duct right behind Antoine and sliced it like butter, causing the entire section containing Sally and Antoine to fall straight down like a brick with a rather deft 'thud.' Both Sally and Antoine were more than a tad rattled, (with Antoine in particular whimpering like a baby,) but they were still conscious and still relatively unscathed.

"There we go. "I knew I forgot something.' He and Grimer then reached to their wastes, pulling their own laser blasters out of their holsters. "Now, if all concerned parties could accompany us to the nearest cells, it would be much appreciated."

"What," said Sally, "you aren't just going to interrogate us first?"

"Normally, I would. And I would also use my handy dandy Memory Altercation device to wipe your memories of the last few hours and send you back to daddy none the wiser, as I've done with all of those insipid agents that pest Harvey's sent my way."

"Uh, wait a minute." Porker started to stutter a tick as he began to lose his nerve, yet he still struggled oh so valiantly to keep it. "We actually had one of those? And why weren't we told about it?"

"Because, my dear Porker, there were some things I just wasn't ready to tell. Or willing. Ever really. You overgrown piece of bacon."

"HEY!" Porker's nerve suddenly rose up inside him like the barrel from a shotgun, but one touch on the shoulder from Tekno was enough to cause it to lower back into the depths of his soul once again.

"Now, where was I?" said Robotnik, once again stroking his oh so well kept stache.

"Explaining why you didn't just interrogate them first, sir?", said Snively.

"Oh yes, quite right. It isn't much fun having captives if you can't gloat to them."

"There's one thing I want to know." If Sally felt so much as a twinge of fear, she didn't dare to show it, the slight trembling in her shoulders being the only thing that could possibly betray her. "Just how did you know we were in the air ducts in the first place?"

"Oh, quite simple. My laboratory has a security system which tracks every single iota of the place down to the last detail. Including air ducts. I suppose your kingdom was still stuck in the Dark Ages for so long that you didn't even consider the possibility."

Sally groaned. She had known about security systems. Nicole had even told her about them. How couldn't she have even thought about this? She should have figured they'd cover something as simple as the air ducts. She supposed she HAD been stuck in the Dark Ages for too long. Still, just one thing to remember if she ever tried something like this again. If she'd ever get a chance to.

"Now, Porker and Tekno here; you two are going to stay right inside your cell until I need you." Robotnik then lowered his spectacles down as he looked at Sally and Antoine, revealing a pair of cybernetic black eyes with red pupils that looked like something out of the depths of the Abyss itself. "However, now that I've thought about it, I've got something special in mind for the two of you."

"I can hardly wait." Sally did her best to stay defiant while also hiding her frustration at having messed up so badly. And all Antoine could do without fear of being sliced or blasted to bits by three different lasers was cower in fear, unsure of just what was going to happen next.

* * *

"So, you're from the Hilltop zone, you said?"

Tails was sitting with Johnny and Sonic at a table on the patio near the chilidog stand. Sonic was busy resting his feet back on said table while only keeping one lazy eye open, like a cat making the pretense of staying awake while in truth not giving a rat's arse. Tails was seated on a seat opposite Johnny's eating a cherry sundae, while Johnny was eating his chilidog in slow measured bites, savoring each morsel as if it could be his last.

"Yup," said Johnny, pushing down another bite of chilidog. "It's not exactly easy living up there you know. Sure, it's beautiful as all hell, but between the high altitude and the pits of molten lava, it can be a struggle. But hey, it's home."

Tails wasn't sure if he could agree with that statement. "If you say so. In any case, why'd you come down here?"

Johnny took another bite before washing it down with a nice cool glass of water and wiping his mouth with his jacket. "Well, we're technically part of the Acorn Kingdom, being on South Westside Island and all, but most of us don't really get out too much. We just stay in our little corner of the world and go about our merry way. Which is fine most of the time, but every now and then, some of us just want to leave the village and see what's out there. It's that not we don't love our home, but when that wanderlust calls, you gotta strike it while the iron's hot. You know what I'm sayin'?"

Sonic's ears suddenly perked up like a dog who just heard one of its' favorite bags of treats being opened. He sprung up out of his seat before bouncing back down and leaning forward towards Johnny on the table. "Hey," said Sonic, "now you're talking my language!"

"You travelin' too?", said Johnny, taking another bite of his 'dog.

"Yup! Seeing all I can see till I can see no more! And I'm not goin' back home till I've seen it all! Well, except to drop off lil bro that is."

"Uh, yeah," said Tails, who wasn't quite on board with what Sonic had planned. Still, he didn't really like feel like bringing it up just yet. Sort of like a little kid afraid to tell their parents he didn't want to go see their uncle Billy Jo Bob. You didn't really want to go, but it's not like you could really refuse. Johnny didn't fail to take notice of Tails' displeasure, but he let it be for now.

"Same here. Well, sort of. I'll probably be goin' home long before that, but not until I've seen all I want to see."

"By the way," said Tails, "what's the metal staff for?"

"This?" Johnny picked up the double-sided mace, hefting it with such ease and grace that you could swear he was a Superbunny. Not that he was, but in that moment, he certainly gave that impression. "This is a double-sided mace, only made out of metal. My family's got some decent metal workers, enough we could cook up some of these to help us better defend ourselves. And we know how to use 'em."

"Sounds pretty sweet," said Sonic. "You wouldn't mind showing me some of your moves some time, would you? Course, you wouldn't stand a chance, but it's the thought that counts."

"Sonic!" Tails was starting to feel like rather than Sonic being the big bro and him being the lil bro, it may have been the other way around. Johnny on the other hand managed to keep himself calm and level despite the occasional eye twitch.

"Well," said Johnny, "I do know you can run faster than any fella I've ever seen around these parts. Anywhere really. Why, I reckon you could probably beat me with your hands tied behind your back. Literally. So if you don't mind, I think I'd have to give it a pass."

"Aw, you're no fun," said Sonic, almost like a six-year-old miffed that he wasn't going to be able to enjoy himself.

Johnny finally stared to let his calm, controlled demeanor go as a small smirk began to crop up on his lips. "Oh, I reckon I am. I just ain't your kind."

Tails was unsure whether or not he should intervene like the older younger brother he was turning out to be when all of a sudden, a small beaver in a red bowtie got up on a box in the middle of the nearby square and started to speak in a sort of a low-key, lackadaisical drawl.

"Excuse me," he said, his half-closed eyes barely blinking as he took a good look at the crowd in front of him. Sonic was of particular notice, if only because he bared a passing familiarity to those he was about to promote. "Uh, excuse me please," he said, his voice steadily getting louder if only in volume, as it was just as nearly dully monotone as ever. "If I could have your attention, the King is about to open the festival with a few select words of wisdom in front of Castle Acorn, after which the Oracles of Delphi will perform a special concert to celebrate the official opening of the festival. Of course, none of these musicians are actually Oracles, and none of theam are actually from Delphi, but nonetheless, there it is. I think. I should really take notes." He then hopped down from the box and scurried away towards the castle, leading about half of the crowd to follow in him a mix of excitement, wonderment, and sheer utter confusion. Though all Sonic could be was excited as all get out.

"Hey, that's my cousin's band! I didn't know they were gonna be here!"

"Your cousins?" said Tails.

"Yeah, Sonia and Manic! They've also got some chick named Mina with them as their lead singer. Never met her though. In any case, I've never heard 'em yet, but I guess this'll be my chance! C'mon, let's go! You comin', Johnny?"

"Might as well.

"Great!" Sonic grabbed both Tails and Johnny by the arms and, just like that, with a small, silver, engraved pendant around Johnny's neck chiming in the wind, off they went to Castle Acorn.


	5. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 5

"Come on Mina, get yourself together."

Mina was sitting at a mirror in front of a dressing room table, patting her yellow furry cheeks in a futile effort to psyche herself up. Not that it would help any.

"Hey, Mina baby, what's the holdup?" A green hedgehog with a large overly spikey hairdo called out in front of the door to the dressing room, with a smile as manic as a monkey. "We can't wait all day you know!"

A dark pink hedgehog then strutted across the hall to the door, her expressions as at ease as the sea; calm and collected, yet still willing to storm up at a moment's notice. "Oh come off it Manic," she said. "A girl's gotta make sure she's got herself together. After all, I remember one time when I forgot to use any eyeliner or makeup and it was the most embarrassing thing and everyone was looking at me funny and I wasn't sure if I could live with myself and then Daddy bought the walking headless chicken who could see the future—

"OKAY!" Manic held up his hand like a stop sign, trying his best to stop another Sonia patented tangent before it even started. "Uh, look Mina. I know you're nervous. We all are. Truth is, this the first gig we've had ever like this up till now. Everything else, it's all been a warmup. So you're probably thinking, 'I'm not prepared for this, I can't possibly do this, it's gonna be impossible. And you know something? That's what they told me when I pulled off my first gig, and since then, it's been smooth sailing."

"It better not be," said Sonia, crossing her shoulders like an older woman sorely disappointed that her son was going down the wrong path.

Manic smiled like a guilty sheep, tugging on his collar as sweat slowly started to roll down his furry green brow. "Uh, I mean, it WAS smooth sailing. Years ago. When I first did it. Yessiree. These days, I'm clean as can be!"

"So you say." Sonia's arms were still crossed as she briefly continued to examine him before returning to more pressing matters. "Look Mina. I know this is a first for you. I know it's scary as hell, but sometimes, you just need to step out and face the sunlight. You've gotta move forward, take that first step into a pool of molten lava, get yourself together!"

"Look girl, don't you want to sing? Isn't that what you always wanted to do more than anything?"

After a moment, Mina's voice squeaked out of the room like a scared little mouse, though seeing as mongooses' were traditionally one of rats' worst enemies, it wasn't exactly fitting. "Yeah."

"And haven't you been singing just fine in all of our other shindigs up till now?"," said Manic

"Yeah."

"So what's stopping you now? I mean, I might mind if I broke a drum stick or something, but I'm not you, am I?"

Mina pounded her fists on the dresser, not really sure what else to do. "It's, it's all of those people! This is the biggest crowd we've ever seen, and it just feels so huge, so overwhelming. To even think we were good enough to be called to the capital to perform even one song! Even just opening up another band! It's just, I don't really know what to think."

"Then don't. Sometimes, you can't think. Sometimes, you gotta feel."

Sonia eyed Manic down with a glare that would give anyone a mild case of the willies. "Yeah, you would say that, wouldn't you?"

But that didn't matter to Mina. What mattered was that as far as she was concerned, she had a point. Either stay in her little comfort zone and just live a normal, everyday life without any fun or excitement, or do what she loved and, providing things didn't go horribly wrong, gain a crowd of adoring fans while she was at it. How could she refuse?

Manic was starting to get impatient. "Hey, Mina? Mina? Knock knock! Oh Mina!"

"Oh knock it off," said Sonia. "You're as bad as your cousin."

Manic grinning with a sense of sheer satisfaction. "I aim to please." But just at that moment, against all odds, the door to the dressing room opened, and sticking head out at long last was none other than Mina Mongoose.

"Sorry about that gang. I was in one of my moods again. I swear, it won't happen again."

"Hey," said Manic, "don't worry about it. I'm sure there's something poignant I could say, but I don't think I'm there just yet. In the meantime, you ready to play?"

"Yeah." Mina smoothed down her long purple hair and breathed one heavy breath to last her for the next minute or so. "Yeah, I am."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Manic strolled off down the corridor like a giddy schoolboy, ready to show off what he could do at one of the hottest parties in town. Whereas all Mina could even hope to do was follow in his footsteps.

"Follow the leader," said Sonia. And in short order, off they were to play — one song anyway — for the biggest party of their lives.

* * *

As Sonic raced towards the castle with a bewildered Tails and a wide-eyed Johnny in tow, all he could think about was hearing his cousins play some sick beats. Right here and now, that was all that mattered; nothing else. Not even the eagle with a microphone he was about to run over as he finally reached the front of Castle Acorn.

Wait. An eagle?

Like a complete and total nincompoop who only managed to realize they made a blunder at the last minute, Sonic came to a screeching stop just in time to avoid bowling the eagle over into the crowd.

"Hey now!", bellowed the eagle, like a mighty storm of pure manliness and machismo. "Care to watch where you're going, wouldn't you?"

"Hey," said Sonic, "there's no need to be snippy!"

"Well, big bro," said Tails, managing to somehow still get a comprehensive sentence out while he was getting his bearings, "you did nearly run him over. The least you could do is apologize."

Sonic began to gripe like a four-year-old baby who couldn't possibly realize it had done anything wrong. "Hey, I stopped, didn't I? He should be grateful I didn't send him flying altogether. Which I guess he wouldn't mind so much seeing as, well, he probably CAN fly, but still."

Johnny slowly slid a palm over his gray furry face, unsure if he could truly take much more of this. "Sonic, just apologize to the man, OK?"

The eagle began tapping his talons on the ground as if expecting a certain answer from a certain someone. "Well?"

Sonic meanwhile began tapping his feet and folding his arms as if to show that he didn't have to do anything he didn't want to do! Which only lasted about five seconds before he finally began to realize that maybe there are some instances where you should do something you don't want to do. Almost if having to pry open an old rusty door, Sonic slowly but surely managed to mold his hand into into a handshake. "Ugh. Look, I'm sorry, okay? I didn't you see there, I should have been watching where I was going, I apologize, I'll never do it again. You all happy now?"

"It's a start," said Tails, glad they were finally getting somewhere.

"Same here," said Johnny. "Though I'm still wondering if you were dropped on the head as a child. It'd explain a lot."

Sonic grumbled like someone out of a cartoon, but other than that, that seemed to be the end of it.

"Well," said the eagle, "thanks I suppose. Now if you don't mind, I need to be getting back to my job."

"Which is?", said Tails.

The eagle puffed out his chest almost like a swelling balloon. "Why, reporting the news of course!" He raised a microphone in his right hand and then looked towards a cameraman who by this point was standing straight in front of them. "Good afternoon Starlight City! This is Soar the Eagle, reporting to you LIVE straight from Mobotropolis, and I'm here to give you the full lowdown on the Acorn Kingdom's grand annual festival! As we start things off, the King is about to give a rousing speech on, well, on something, shortly because the Oracles of Delphi come out to give us all a performance we certainly won't forget! I don't know if it will be for the right reasons, but we certainly won't forget it! But let's not get ahead of ourselves, as we still have the King to hear first and, well, what do you know! Speak of the devil! Here he comes now!"

Just as Soar had said, out came King Max from the doors of Castle Acorn, walking with such regality and poise and vigor in his step that if it weren't for that white mustache, one would swear he wasn't a day over 30. He stepped down onto the patio to face the crowd before him as it waited with abated breath on his very words. Johnny kept a keen eye on the proceedings while Tails was fascinated, and as for Sonic? Sonic couldn't care less.

As they approached the podium just in front of the crowds, he turned to his old servant Sebastian, occasionally craning his neck as if something or another was out of place. "Where are they? Both my daughter and should have already been here. I suppose Robotnik could have been caught up in some experiment or another, but that doesn't explain why my own daughter, the Princess of an entire nation, is unavailable to address the awaiting public."

"Who knows sire?", said the servant, almost as if he were in on a joke that the King couldn't begin to guess. "I suppose they must have simply been detained." The King him for a moment like a man with a solid hunch who nonetheless could not possibly prove what he believed to be true. Still, no matter.

"In any case," said the King, "I cannot afford to delay the festival any longer than necessary. I'll start things off, and then with any luck, the others will soon follow. And if my daughter of all people doesn't show, well, I suppose that's why Gaea created groundings." He then hopped onto a specially prepared red and golden podium, cleared his throat like a horse with a bad cough, and was in short order ready to lay it all out.

"Good afternoon friends!" Thanks to Robotnik's nifty new microphone, the King didn't even have to raise his voice. Would wonders never cease? "A fine day, is it not? Perfect weather for celebrating a tradition nearly as old as the Kingdom itself! But over the last year, I've had to learn a hard truth about traditions. That being that while there certainly is value in keeping to the spirit of the old, it is sometimes necessary to stray from the ways of old so as to keep that spirit intact. Anyone who has ever visited the outside world knows the Acorn Kingdom is after a fashion especially outdated in a number of ways, a fact I am not afraid to admit. But this merely means that there is a great deal of room for us to improve and better ourselves; that there is a most wonderful challenge to be had in promoting us to the top of the world stage once again."

He took a moment to quickly adjust the buttons of his blue coat, doing so in the manner of one who knew exactly what to do and exactly how to do it; the kind of clarity of purpose that only kings and fools could possess. Max sincerely hoped he was purely the former and not at all the latter. In any case, he quickly used this opportunity to glance over his shoulder, noting that both his daughter and the good Doctor had yet to show up. He'd supposed he'd have to skip his daughter's portion of this little ceremony for the time being and send out some guards to search for her later. He did hope his attempt to appease her by sending her off to find 'proof' wasn't responsible for this somehow. Still, on with the show.

"However, this does not mean it is not a difficult task. A welcome challenge is a challenge nonetheless. But there are times when even the best of rules and the best of rulers needs help. Now, both my lovely daughter and my Chief Scientist were set to address all of you today, but they can't seem to be found, and so…"

During all of this, Sonic was doing his best not to keep his eyelids from shutting altogether. He was starting to wonder why he even bothered coming in the first place. He couldn't see how anyone could be troubled with some old man going on and on about loyalty and tradition and things that really didn't matter. Soar was eating it up as he pandered to his viewers back home, and both Tails and Johnny were rapt with attention, but all Sonic knew was that if something didn't happen right this second, he was out of here.

As if the universe existed to serve his every whim, something did indeed happen then and there. As if someone had set a video to pause, everything and everyone around him for no inexplicable reason simply stopped. Tails' tails had stopped twirling in place, Soar had stopped puffing up his chest like a gorilla, and the King simply stood there on his podium with his mouth open so wide that a large dragonfly could zip in and out and he'd hardly notice. What Sonic himself noticed was that in that snapshot frozen in time, with everything now still and clear as day, there was something about the king that was rather, shall one say, odd. Or rather, not the king himself, but the old servant next to him. He was frozen like the rest, but for some inexplicable reason, there was a rather nasty snarl on his face, and eyes that seemed to scream bloody murder. His whole face almost seemed to be contorting, as if something wasn't quite right. He must have been having a conniption, thought Sonic. Moving on.

He took a quick look around, determined to see anything out of the ordinary that might help explain his situation when all of a sudden, smackdab in an open clearing in the middle of the crowd, there she was. She was orange and petite, with large blue eyes that seemed to stare straight into your soul and yet seemed to only do so out of a need to help it somehow, not out of malice. There was sorrow and sadness like a deep blue sea, and yet just as much kindness and compassion in equal measure, and her orange dreadlocks danced in place as if gentle breezes were pushing them to and fro like children on a playground. Sonic was just about to rush over to her to get a better look and hopefully get some answers, but just then, in a voice as enchanting as it was forboding, she spoke.

"The story begins, but who shall win? The truth of the danger lies within."

And as soon as she was finished, the spell was over. In the time it took Sonic to blink, this mysterious being that was unlike any Sonic had ever seen before had vanished from his very eyes, and as she did so, the world resumed its' natural course. Or so he thought. For at that moment, just as everyone seemed to be moving again, he could feel a slight tremor under his feet. At first, he thought it might be nothing. Just a figment of his imagination. But besides the fact Sonic never did have too much imagination, any thoughts entertaining this were put to rest when another tremor, louder than before, could be felt, and this time, a good fair chunk of the citizenry seemed to notice. "Hey," said Tails, "did you feel that big bro?"

"Yeah lil bro," said Sonic. "But who knows? Might be nothing."

"I'm not so sure," said Johnny. "I felt another one just half a minute ago. You live in the Hilltop zone, you get used to quakes as much as you get used to the lava pits. They kind of go hand in hand. But I'll tell you somethin'. This this doesn't feel like any quake I've ever felt."

"How so?", said Tails.

"I don't know. It just doesn't feel natural somehow. Call it a hunch, but I think there's something going on here. And I'm never wrong about my hunches."

In just seconds, Johnny was proven right. A third tremor could be heard, followed by another and another and another; an endless succession of tremors that all seemed to result in people getting practically thrown and tossed to the floor while others tried their best to flee to safety. Sonic tried to bolt out of there with Tails and Johnny, but it was no good; the trembling was just too strong. He couldn't get too much of a headstart let alone break out into a full sprint, and in the end, he was just as helpless as everyone.

"EVERYONE," cried the King, "PLEASE STAY CALM! KEEP YOURSELVES AS SAFE AND PROTECTED AS YOU CAN!"

Not that the King could stay safe and protected himself. For just at that moment, as Sonic was too preoccupied with his own difficulties to notice, the old servant suddenly lunged forward and seized Acorn from the back, holding him together in a fierce bear hug that one scarcely imagine from someone in his size and age.

"SEBASTIAN!", he cried out. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

As 'Sebastian' spoke, his voice suddenly lost the kindly posh inflection that had come to be expected of him, instead replaced with a thick Down Undah accent that one could scarcely imagine was coming out of that frame. "The meaning mate," he said, "is that you're about to be deposed."

At last, the tremors reached their apex, and just when they couldn't go any higher, something arose from the center of the plaza. Like a giant mole, it tore its' way through stone and mortar and cement and rose up through the Earth itself, completely destroying anything that stood in its' way. Now fully unearthed, it was some sort of gigantic vehicle or tank with a giant drilled attached to the front, which explained just about everything that happened up until this point. The citizens began fleeing in terror, but as they did so, the deathly Swatbots and Troopers suddenly stood in place and began reciting a most strange but nonetheless frightening phrase: "CODE E-G-G ACTIVATED. THE DOCTOR FORMERLY KNOWN AS ROBOTNIK IS TO BE OBEYED ABOVE ALL OTHERS. HIS FIRST ORDER: CORRAL ALL CITIZENS AND STOP ANY WHO ATTEMPT TO FLEE." The Swatbots readied their wrist-mounted lasers while the troopers cocked and readied their own laser rifles. "WITH EXTREME PREJUDICE." They immediately began forming a blockade around the square and firing at anyone still attempting to escape or who had already gotten out as, as if they were wild animals to be hunted and caged.

"Big bro!", cried Tails, his two tails spinning in place like a whirlwind as he struggled to make sense of it all. "What's going on?! I mean, I know what's going on, but WHAT'S GOING ON!?"

"That's what I'd like to know!", said Sonic, who in spite of himself was grinning like a maniac. As horrible as this was, things might have at last finally been getting fun.

"Come on!", said Johnny. "We've got to do something!" But just as he was about to do just that, a large circular platform rose out of the platform, revealing none other than Princess Sally and Antione in chains, the former struggling to break free as she nearly broke down in tears, while the latter was nearly curled up in a fetal position.

"DADDY!", cried Sally. "I'M SO SORRY!"

"SALLY?!", shouted Max. "WHO DID THIS TO YOU?! WHAT IS GOING ON?!"

"I believe I can answer your questions, your former highness." Standing right behind Sally and Antione and now stepping forward to make his presence known was none other than himself, grinning as though a months long scheme was finally coming to fruition.

"JULIAN!", the King yelled, still struggling in vain to escape from his captors. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Oh, isn't it simple? Your oh so precious daughter and her pathetic excuse for a friend were caught snooping around my laboratory, and I simply couldn't have that. Got to keep trade secrets secret you know. As for the rest, well, I don't think I need to explain, but what the heck, I will anyway. It's just too much fun!" He began to bow almost graciously as if to mock those who dared to think they were anyone truly important in the grand scheme. "Your Majesty, members of the royal court, welcome to MY kingdom!"

"YOUR kingdom?!", the King shouted in pure and utter outrage. "Robotnik, you've gone too far!"

Robotnik simply held out one large fatty finger and told him, in no uncertain terms, "Oh, and you'd do better not to call me by such an old and worthless name if you so please. It's Eggman now!"

THE ACORN KINGDOM, EARLY FALL, NOW


	6. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 6

"Delicious, isn't it?"

Robotnik, or Doctor Eggman as he now called himself, stood atop the platform hoisted above his drill tank, with Sally on her knees and Antione still curled into a huddling ball of fear. King Acorn was still being squeezed tight by 'Sebastian', who seemed to be enjoying this all too much. And Sonic, Tails, and Johnny weren't quite sure what to do about all of this.

"'Eggman'?", said the King, as though he couldn't believe the words that were coming out of that madman's mouth. Then again, maybe he should have started. "Are you completely insane?"

"Maybe, maybe not. Quite honestly, I don't really care. What you should care about," he said, pulling out his laser blaster, "is that I've got a gun triggered to your daughter's pretty noggin and that unless you do exactly as I say, she's not going to have it much longer."

"DON'T LISTEN TO HIM DADDY!", shouted Sally. "I'LL BE FINE, DON'T LISTEN TO HIM!"

"You know," said Eggman to Sally, "you can keep that up all you like missy, but the fact is, even if you weren't here, it wouldn't matter much. If at all. You see, I never intended on tying you up and bringing you here. You were simply a happy accident. You're just here to sweeten the pot."

"What do you mean?", asked Sally, though as her eyes started to widen in a sense of dawning realization, she quickly realized that she hadn't needed to ask Robotnik anything to know just what he meant.

"Think about it. The entire capital is being besieged by my robots even as we speak, including various important sectors of Government I might add, and the man whom your daddy thought was his closest and trusted friend has him trapped like a rat in a bearhug. Speaking of which, feel free to drop the act anytime you like, Dingo! It's not going to matter that much now anyway."

"With pleasure, 'boss.'" In a mere few seconds, the unthinkable occurred. All at once, 'Sebastian's' body began to twist and turn, to swerve and contort, to shift itself into something completely unrecognizable as Sebastian until, at last, it wasn't Sebastian anymore. In his place was a massive orange and hairy over-muscled brute with large sharp teeth and bad breath, and he seemed to relish having both gained and shattered the King's trust so completely.

"Sebastian?", said the King, almost as though he couldn't bring himself to believe what was happening before his very eyes.

"Sebastian," said the brute, "had a very nasty accident some weeks back. Let's just say he's resting somewhere you can't reach.'

King Acorn gave the massive brute a sharp piercing gaze so intense that it seemed to cut through to his very soul. "And where would that be if I may ask?"

The brute grinned at the King like a young boy sometimes does when he's about to murder a poor innocent defenseless critter viciously. Not that would necessarily mean any murdering was involved in this specific case, but the spirit was still as plain as day. "Funny, that. Name's Dingo by the way. Case you were asking."

"I wasn't," said the King, who couldn't care less.

"In any case," said Eggman, "your father's kingdom, my dear girl, would have been conquered in one way or another without your help, so whether or not you're alive or dead doesn't make much difference. But I'm sure Daddy still wouldn't want to see that happen. Would you, 'sire'?"

During this entire little shindig, Mina, Sonia, and Manic had popped their heads out of the gates of the royal castle which they had been using for their preparations, desperate to see just what the source of that series of quakes could be. And when they found out, they were anything but amused.

"Slimebucket!", whispered Sonia. "When I get my hands on him, he's going to wish he was boiled over easy!"

"Uh," whispered Mina, "what's that's supposed to mean?"

"It means," said Manic, "that she's going to fry his bacon if she ever gets the chance. And I can't say I'd blame her." His gaze then shifted to Mina, his eyes fixated on, of all things, her large furry feet. "Mina, if things get hairy, you're gonna have to turn on the juice, got it?"

"Uh, got it!", said Mina.

"Hold on a minute. Sonia squinted like a seasoned huntress as she scouted the crowd. "I think I see — well, wouldn't you know it! There he is!"

"There who is?", whispered Mina.

"Wait," said Manic, "you don't mean who I think you mean, do you?"

"Like hedgehogs in a blanket I do!", said Sonia. "Take a look for yourself!"

And Manic did just that.

"Well, I'll be damned. Mina, looks like you've got some competition."

"Competition?", said Mina, not quite sure just he what meant.

"He really is here!", said Sonia. "This is gonna get good!"

In the meantime, Soar was busy recording this turn of events as best he could, though he also seemed to be tapping somewhat consistently on a small receiver placed in his ear.

"Breaking news! In what is sure to be a first in the history of the Islands, the Acorn Kingdom seems like it's about to be taken over by a madman with serious delusions of grandeur. Not to mention identity. I am sorry, but if you're naming yourself after what my species lays for a living, then you've got to have issues. Hold on a minute. This just in: According to my fellow reporters, attacks are apparently breaking out all across the city. In fact, if you listen closely, I think you can hear them from here!"

Soar held one feathery hand to his ear like a showman trying and failing to maximize the dramatic effect in a pointless attempt to draw in his audience, but he was right about one thing. Explosions, gunfire, screams of terror; all of that and more could be heard from all around, and the skies began to burn orange as columns of flame and smoke rose up all over Metropolis.

"Wow!" Soar put one hand sideways over his eyes as he observed the fiery apocalypse that was unfolding around him. "Would you look at that! Any sane Mobain would fly off in a fright of terror, but luckily for me, I am most certainly not sane! Oh, and it appears that a Trooper is holding me at gunpoint and may very well shoot me if I don't stop reporting at once. Um, can I take a raincheck on that, ? Please? You don't even know what a raincheck is, do you?"

Meanwhile, Sonic and co were having a little pow-wow of their own. The SWATbots and Troopers saw no need to corral the three seeing as they were already well inside the plaza, but that didn't exactly make them feel any safer. Of course, that would have mattered if Sonic gave two figs as he grinned like a manic.

"Alright, I'm going in!"

"Now hold on just a minute," whispered Johnny, placing one hand on Sonic's shoulder like the responsible adult who always held the hyperactive pipsqueaks in contempt. "We can't go rushing into this half-cocked."

"And why not?", whispered Sonic as he tore Johnny's hand from his person. "I always go into things half-cocked. Makes it more fun."

"This isn't supposed to be fun." Johnny placed a firm grip right on Sonic's shoulder as he gave him a deadly look that said if he didn't cut the crap, his ass would be grass. "Lives may be on the line; this kingdom may be on the line if that oversized omelet is telling the truth, and if I'm being honest, you might be the only one who can do a thing about it. I've seen enough of what you can do to know you may be the only chance we've got to do anything right now. So this isn't just about the Princess or the King. Because if you go rushing in, you may get yourself hurt and then we're all screwed. Royally. Do you understand me?"

"He's got a point, big bro," whispered Tails, breathing like a scared mouse sidling the corner in fear of the hunter. "Honestly? I'm scared. Really. Part of me wants to just fly away; to just forget about all this and let Gaea sort it all out. But Johnny's right. We've got to do something. Because we're the only ones that can. And rushing into things like a blind hog isn't going to do anyone any good."

Sonic considered retaliating with some flippant remark or another. Something to show that what they said didn't have an impact on him whatsoever. That he could just do whatever the heck he wanted, that he could treat this all like fun and games if he wanted to. Except he couldn't. Because deep down underneath that true blue exterior, he knew they were right.

"Alright, alright," whispered Sonic. "We'll do it your way. But the second it looks like the Princess is in real danger—"

"We know," said Johnny, "don't worry. And thanks for listening to us."

"Yeah yeah. Stick in the mud."

"I aim to please."

Back on the platform, Sally was about to do something she knew, in fact, was very, very stupid. All common sense and rationality were telling her that this was, as some might say, 'the bad idea.' But what else could she do?

"Robotnik, Eggman, whatever you call yourself, I've just got one thing to say to you."

"And what's that, deary?"

And Sally, her breathing quickening like a wild animal who wasn't sure if the next moment would or wouldn't be their last, simply smiled. "See you on the ground floor."

This, more than anything else, was enough to give Eggman pause; a pause just long enough for Sally to grin, wave goodbye with her tied hands, and toss herself straight over the platform.

"SALLY!", said the king. He valiantly tried to break Dingo's grip like a wild animal at last breaking free of his captor, but it just wasn't to be.

"Pipe down mate!", Dingo bellowed. "And you might as well quit your struggling because it's not going to do you much good."

Nearly the entire crowd was in shock. Even Eggman, who thought he had held all the cards, was agape. Surprisingly, of all those moved to action, the first and foremost was the one no-one would suspect; Antione Coolete.

Sally's seeming suicide was more than enough to break Antione out of his shivering fits as if another self altogether had come forth and broken through. "MY PRINCESS! I AM COMING MY LADY!" Following in her footsteps, he too hurled himself off the platform, forgetting for a moment that he wouldn't be able to catch her with both hands cuffed. In hindsight, just like this Princess' own actions, this was likely an incredibly stupid thing to do. "OH GAEA I AM GOING TO DIE!"

Not that there was any need to worry.

Just as the two plunged to what seemed to be their inevitable deaths, Tails, Johnny, and Sonic sprang into action. Sonic, with a grin like someone experiencing the best day of their life, zipped straight over to right under Sally and Antoine, his smile only starting to fade as he began to fumble about, suddenly realizing he might not be able to save both. Johnny raced over as fast he could, though sadly, he wasn't the fastest thing alive. And Tails finally had a chance to show what he could do.

Tails' tails began whirring like a propeller or a motor engine, lifting him above in short order and sending him high into the sky. Johnny; Sonic; even Eggman and the SWATbots and Troopers were all stunned speechless. Counting on Sonic to save the Princess, he soared over to Antione, grabbing one hand in mid-air—

"Got you!"

—and valiantly tried to carry him to safety, but it just wasn't enough. For a little fox such as Tails, carrying Antione was like carrying a sack of bricks. If he had more time to train himself, to bolster just how much he could lift, he might have been able to pull this off, but as is, no matter how hard he pulled, there was nothing he could do. Either he let go of Antione, which he wasn't willing to do at the moment, or they'd both plummet to the pavement.

Meanwhile, over in the castle, as the guards began to scramble, Sonia, Manic, and Mina were biting their fingernails like nervous schoolchildren, until at last, one of them rose to action. In a somewhat indirect fashion. "Mina," said Manic, "get in there! Now!"

"Oh!" Mina squeaked like a little mouse, as nervous as any mouse could be even though she was in fact NOT a mouse, but she nonetheless braced herself. She didn't want to do this, didn't want to risk putting herself in danger or to try only to fail, didn't want to do anything other than sing, but what choice did she have? Crouching as if getting ready for a track meet, summoning the forces inside herself, she took one deep breath and, like a streak of yellow lightning, off she went.

"Mon ame," whimpered Antione to Tails, "I do not know how you are doing this, but at this point, I do not care. Though I would be very grateful to you of course if you would so very please PULL UP! PULL UP!"

"I'M TRYING!", yelled Tails. "YOU SHOULDN'T BE SO HEAVY!"

"YOU ARE JUST TOO WEAK! YOUR LIMBS ARE LIKE TWIGS!"

"SO ARE YOURS!"

"I AM SLIPPING! AY-YI-YI!"

Meanwhile, Eggman continued to watch the spectacle unfolding before him with wide eyes and the keen interest of a scientist that, kingdom conquering aside, had to know more; to know all he could. As such, he couldn't help but signal his forces to lay off and let this farce play out for the time being. He could sic his troops on them all and capture the King's daughter as soon as this little drama played out, but he had to see this through to the end. Especially that little blue hedgehog. Something about him seemed to catch his interest more than the others, like a man who knows with absolute certainty that this is the biggest thorn in their side they're ever going to see, and without even knowing why. Though as he continued to see what was happening below, he started to have an inkling.

Just then, as it seemed uncertain just what Antione's fate was going to be, help arrived from the least likely of places. A bright yellow streak could be seen barreling from the castle gates like a bullet, and just as Tails' hands finally gave way despite his best efforts, that same streak was now there to catch him as he fell. And as she came into focus, it was clear that it was none other than the lead singer of the Oracles of Delphi herself, Mina Mongoose. Much too concerned with his well being to be anything close to surprised at this, Antione simply went with the flow and let out one big 'Oof!" as he fell into Mina's waiting arms. Which then promptly gave way under the full force of Antione. Just what did this man eat? In any event, he was safe for the time being, but he couldn't say the same for Sally.

Sally braced herself to prepare for the worst. She needed to remind herself not to always be so defiant and foolhardy in the face of a seemingly impossible scenario, not that it would matter much longer in any case. As the stone street rapidly drew ever closer and closer, she closed her eyes, prayed to whoever happened to be listening, and hoped she'd live to tell the tale.

Five seconds later, she made impact. There was no doubt about it. She had just come face to face with the reality of cold hard… arms? They were just a touch spiky come to think of it. Though other than that, they were quite comfortable. Was this what heaven felt like?

She slowly opened her eyes like a newborn babe, and looking up as if for the first time, she knew with complete certainty that she was staring in the face of…

"Are you gonna sit there all day or can you just not get enough of this?"

…of a rather obnoxious and arrogant as all get out blue hedgehog.

Like someone who suddenly found themselves on the crazy train and wanted to get off, she leaped right out of Sonic's arms and planted her feet firmly on the ground. "Uh, thanks sir…"

"Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And don't you forget it."

"Sonic," Sally wasn't sure whether to feel grateful or perturbed. Perhaps a healthy mix of both was in order. "You saved me, right?"

"Guilty as charged."

"Right. Thanks." She would have said more or at least said that she'd like to say more, but either way, there were more pressing matters to be concerned with.

"Sally!", yelled the King, still struggling in vain like a hogtied piggy to get free of Dingo's grip.

"Daddy!", yelled Sally. "Don't worry, I'll get you out of this!"

"Fat chance of that," said Eggman, finally deciding to make his move. "Dingo?"

"Gotcha' boss." Dingo's body then melted like lava into a sort of paste, wrapping itself around the King like silly-putty and covering the King completely, so much so that barely an inch of him could be seen. He tried to cry out, but the best he could get was several muffles of indecipherable gibberish.

"ROBOTNIK!", yelled Sally. "What's the meaning of this?"

"First thing's first, it's Eggman now, in case you forgot, and secondly, I think you'll find the meaning to be quite clear."

Sally turned back towards her father just in time to see Dingo turn himself into a giant cage with equally giant wings, with Dingo's head placed squarely on top.

"Dingo," said Eggman, "do please take our newest and most prestigious prisoner to the laboratory, won't you? The castle is still just a bit too, shall we say, 'cheerful' for my tastes."

"With pleasure, boss." And just like that, off Dingo flew like a haphazard UFO to his aforementioned destination.

"NO!", yelled Sally.

"SALLY!", yelled the King, as he shook the bars of his cage in vain.

"Tails," said Johnny, "what you did just now, I don't even know how you did it, but do you think you can do it again?"

"Sorry," said Tails, wiping the sweat from his furry brow. "I'm already tuckered out from carrying Antione, and I couldn't even do that. I can get better with more practice, but for now, that's all I can do."

"Don't sweat it!", said Sonic. "I'll be on him like yesterday's news!"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that," said Eggman, at last making his presence known once more. With a snap of his fingers, the robots all around the plaza snapped to attention, and their guns quickly started to target Sonic and the rest.

"Oh, and don't worry. I'm giving orders to take the lot of you alive, though it's only for one reason. You there! The blue hedgehog who can run like something out of MASCAR!"

"That's me," said Sonic, honestly not sure if even he could outrun an entire armada of bullets. "What do you want with me?"

"What I want to know is why I have a super-Mobian in my midst. Why I suppose I have three of them come to think of it. The two-tailed freak and the mongoose on steroids are also quite the curiosity."

"Hey!" Tails, had already been teased plenty about his tail growing up in school. He certainly didn't need any of that from a man old enough to be his father.

"Uh,' said Mina, "if it helps, I only learned I could, like, run really fast about a year or so ago, but I'm pretty sure I didn't get it through steroids. Or at least I don't think I did."

"Wait a minute," said Sonic, like the kid on the playground who became ecstatic after realizing there was a kid just as gloriously messed up as he was. "'Run fast?' Not that he had much of a chance to follow up on that.

"No matter!', said Eggman. "Whatever you all are, I'll have more than enough of a chance to find out on the dissection table. On the count of 3…"

"Okay, look," whispered Sonic, "we don't got much of a choice now. This is somethin' even I don't want to risk, but if we don't try to get the heck out of dodge now, we're toast. And that's coming from me."

"Agreed," said Johnny.

"2…"

"Uh," said Antione, "the question is, just how do you think we are getting out of here?"

"1…"

"Simple," said Sonic. "With a little dose of Sonic speed!"

"And mongoose speed," said Mina, "I guess." Sonic looked at her for a moment as if starting to get the idea that there was a lot more to her than there appeared, but that would have to wait.

"Anyway, everyone hold on tight. This is gonna be a bumpy ride!" And as everyone except for Mina formed a Mobian link like their lives depended on it, Mina raced over to Sonia and Manic, with Sonic once again too busy to notice.

"Hey," said Manic, "what's going on over there? Something come up?"

"That's what I want to know!", said Sonia.

"No time to explain," said Mina. "Grab on!" Like a flash, she firmly gripped both Sonia and Manic's hands before they even had a chance to react.

"…0! Fire!" A wave of Robotnik's hand was all that was needed to signal the SWATbots and Troopers to unleash a hell of bullets and laser blasts like a torrent at such velocity and with such ferocity that it was hard even for Eggman to make them all out. "Alright, cease fire, cease fire! With any luck, they'll all be either dead or…"

And when the smoke cleared, like Eggman suspected in the bottom of his sick twisted excuse for a heart, they were, without a shadow of a doubt…

"…gone."


	7. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 7

"My stars, what's going on out there?!"

Bunnie had been dusting the salon in the absence of any other customers (a habit of hers which was becoming all too common,) when she heard an almost deafening ruckus going on outside. Gunshots, explosions, screaming in the streets; it was too much for her just to fold her long tall ears on top of themselves and shut it all out, even if she wanted to. Using her elongated, sturdy feet, she leaped to the door and swung it open, and the sight was almost too much to bear. SWATbots and Troopers were shooting at houses and tossing small explosions like open season as scared and frightened Mobians ran helplessly down the roadways and sidewalks, almost like a warzone. "Blazes!" And indeed, blazes there were.

Before she could even think about what to do next, she could hear something loud and heavy approaching her from behind. She spun around to see a large SWATbot standing right behind her, as stiff as a log. He seemed to be lugging a squirrel over his shoulder, and while he was unconscious, (he seemed to have a nasty bump on the back of his head from the look of it,) he was still breathing.

She wouldn't deny it. She was scared, shaken, almost petrified. But all of that quickly wore off as she said to herself, 'This isn't how it ends.' Like a fierce warrior, she lifted up her broom like a mighty sword and aimed it at the SWATbot. Of course, she couldn't hope to so much as put a dent in it, but if she was going out, she was going out swinging. "You wanna take me," she said, "you ain't doin' it alive!" She lunged at the SWATbot, but one deft and rather appropriate swat from its' black steely hand was enough to send Bunnie flying towards the outer stone wall of her shop, after which she was promptly knocked against it and fell to the ground unconscious, a trickle of blood flowing from her temple.

A red light then flashed from the SWATbot's red visor and washed over Bunnie like some sort of scan before promptly retreating to whence it came. "SUBJECT STILL EXHIBITING LIFESIGNS," it said in that same droll monotone that all of its' kind spoke in. "DAMAGE NOT FATAL. SUBJECT EXHIBITS ABOVE AVERAGE TENACITY AND AGGRESSION. SUBJECT IS WORTHY POTENTIAL CANDIDATE FOR FIRST MOBIAN ROBOTICIZER TEST SUBJECT. MUST TAKE SUBJECT TO ROBOTNIK AT ONCE." It then picked up Bunnie by the feet and flung her over its' shoulder. With two potential subjects in tow, the SWATbot then headed for the laboratory, with the chaos and confusion going on around it being nothing but an inconvenience.

* * *

"One side! Excuse me! Coming through!" Sonic and Mina were busy speeding their way down the city streets and blazing past SWATbots and civilians alike, desperate to get as far away from Eggman and his cadre of goons as much as possible. With a bit of luck, they managed to find a secluded alleyway that seemed thin enough that only Mobians could squeeze through it. Swatbots and Troopers were out of luck. Slipping into the ally, they were finally able to slow down, and their chains of Mobians that had been practically swinging in the breeze were grateful to catch a break. "Oh, Gaea!", said Sonia, one hand leaning against a wall as if she were going to hurl any second. "If that's what it's like to be the second fastest thing alive, I don't want to be the fastest!"

"You're telling me,' said Manic, slumping down against the wall in heavy breaths. "Don't get me wrong, it was fun! Scary as all hell, but fun."

"You call that fun?!", shouted Sonia. "What kind of cousin are you?!"

"Sorry guys," said Mina, "sorry! I'm still not used to it, really! Sorry!"

"Uh, speaking of cousins…" Manic then pointed one finger up to the reae, aiming straight at none other than the actual fastest thing alive. However, while one would think he'd be wanting to greet his cousins and thank Gaea they were alive, that wasn't his priority. Instead, he'd finally noticed that yellow trail of speed that had been following him all this time, and by Gaea was he turned on.

"Uh," said Mina, "hi. Can I help you?"

"Only if you can tell me how a pretty thing like you is the fastest mongoose alive."

"Hey, down boy!", said Manic. "Sides, that's a heck of a way to greet your cousins. We finally see other again after all this time and the first thing you do? Try and tap some ass. Never fails."

"Oh, hey cuz!", said Sonic, grasping Manic's hand and helping him off the ground in the time it took to blink. "Didn't think I'd be seeing you here!"

"Same here. Though I'm glad I did."

"You got that right. Hey, how's Sonia doing?"

"I'd say ask her, but…"

And as they spoke, Sonia was busy heaving into the nearest garbage can like a land loving yokel during her first day at sea.

"…she's busy."

"No kidding," said Sonic.

Meanwhile, Antione was huddling and chattering his teeth while Johnny and Tails sidled the wall as they peered beyond the confines of the alley. The chaos and mayhem were starting to die down ever so slightly as the frightened and panicked citizens began to fall into line under the SWATbots and Troopers' heel, but things looked to still be frantic for a while yet. And amidst all this, Sally was down on the ground, her back slumped against the wall and her hands slowly sliding down her face like a wet rag, not sure just what she was going to do from here on out. Still, one must keep up appearances. She did her best to compose herself, standing up straight as could be while trying to act as though she knew what she was doing. "How's it looking out there?" she said.

"Not too good Princess," said Johnny. "SWATbots and Troopers are still stomping all over the city as far as the eye can see. It's a madhouse out there, and it's not going to get better any time soon."

"Same here," said Tails. "If we're going to get out of here, it's got to be now. I can try and fly up to do some reconnaissance if you want, but I might get spotted. So I'm not sure if that's really the best option here."

"Eh," said Sonic, "no need for that. You've got me, remember? And Mina. We just go in wherever they've got the King, bail him out, kick Eggman's ass, and then we can all go running off wherever. Easey-peasy!"

"Uh," said Mina, "maybe it's just me, but I don't think it's gonna be that simple. I mean, yeah, we're fast and all, but it's still just the two of us against who knows how many of them. And honestly, I don't know if I wanna get caught up in some war. I mean, I know I was born and raised in the Acorn Kingdom, a lot of us probably were, but what can we really do?"

"Don't talk like that!" said Johnny, suddenly getting rather testy, almost like a man responding vehemently to being told what he can and cannot do. "We can't just sit here and do nothing! Sure, we've gotta' be calm and we've gotta' be careful, and I'm not even sure if we can do anything about this just now, but we've gotta' do something."

Antione slowly raised one shaky finger as he got himself off the ground, doing his best to keep himself from regressing back into one big ball of shaken nerves. "Uh, if I may interject, I do agree that we should get far, FAR away from here as possible. As is, there is simply nothing that we can do. Myself and the Princess attempted to enter Robotnik's laboratory first hand and, well, I am sure you saw what became of that. It is nigh impossible to enter without being detected, and if there is a way, we need time to figure that out. I do not know about you, but I do not wish myself or the Princess or any one of us to be captured again so soon. Discretion is the better part of valor after all."

During all of this, Sonic was tapping his foot like a woodpecker. He felt as though he'd been standing in place for an eternity, and if he didn't get a chance to do something soon, he might just go insane. "Alright, I'm sick of just waiting around. Anyone who wants to come along and kick some Eggman ass, just let me know, because—"

And at long last, like a pot of water that had just reached its' boiling point, Sally finally let loose like a verbal hurricane. "THAT DOES IT! LISTEN UP, ALL OF YOU! I've listened long and hard to everything that each and every one of you has to say, but know this. I am the Princess. Now, for the time being, that's all I am. I'm not even sure I want to be Queen if it ever comes to that. But right here and now, I'm the foremost authority in this kingdom, and if I have to use it, then by Gaea I will. Even if I don't want to. But if the rest of you can't even decide on just what you want to do, then I guess I'll have to. Anyone who has a problem with this can kindly get the hell out of my Kingdom and off my island if they want to, but right now, I call the shots! GOT IT?!"

Everyone was stunned. Some were even stupefied. It was as if the Princess of the Acorn Kingdom had been born right before their very eyes and was making everyone aware of this fact. Even Sonic of all people was blindsided.

Sally then took a deep long breath, almost as if she didn't even know she had it in her and was doing her best to let it sink within herself once more. But now that it had been unearthed, this was a part of her that was never entirely going away. "That said, I would appreciate any advice any of you can give. I don't even really know most of you, but I do know you're all trying to help. Besides, introductions can come later. In any case," she said, wiping a tear from her eye," Antione is right. I really don't want to admit it, but he is. I don't want to just leave Daddy there. I really don't. And I would give anything to rescue him. But right now, there's nothing we can do. We need to regroup, and we need time, and we need a plan. And right here, right now, we have none of those things. I hate myself for saying this, but we need to leave. Now."

Sonic was about to say Sally wasn't the boss of him, but a grim glare from Sonia, just finished with heaving into the trash can,, took care of that. He didn't like this one bit, but he'd go along with it for now. Where else did he have to go?

Anywhere really. Anywhere but here.

"And just where are we supposed to go?", said Sonic, in one last show of defiance.

"There is one place," said Sally, "and it isn't even that far from here."

"And where's that?", said Manic.

"Knothole Forest," said Sally.

"I've heard of that place," said Johnny. "It's without a doubt the largest forest on the island. And easy to get lost in."

"Quite right," said Sally, "which means Eggman's never going to be able to find us."

"Doesn't that also mean we wouldn't be able to find each other? If we got lost or separated I mean?", said Tails.

"If you've got any other suggestions," said Sally, "I'm happy to hear them, but that's our best bet. And unless anyone knows of somewhere else just as viable, then this isn't up for debate. Understand?"

Silence fell in the alleyway, which only made the cacophony of screams and gunshots all the more noticeable and unbearable. No-one seemed to object, whether it be because they thought it would be too much trouble, because they were impressed by her sheer gusto, because they just thought she was right, or some combination thereof. In any case, the decree went unquestioned, a fact that she was both pleased and slightly uncomfortable with. "Right then," she said. She then looked firmly at Sonic and Mina, as if she were appraising two precious items of worth. "Honestly," she said, "I have no clue how you two do it, but right now, I don't care. As far as I can tell, you're the two fastest things alive, and the only way we're going to get out of here is with you two. Do you think you're up to it?"

Mina started to tremble, her knees knocking as if she were being called upon to suddenly perform an entire symphony on the spot. "Um, well, I guess? Maybe? It's just, I think I was fine when we were all in the thick of it and it was do or die, but now I can think about it and stuff and I just—"

Sonia, now fully recovered from her expulsion of her bodily substances into the nearest deposit for such things, placed two fingers on her lips and looked at her as if to say, 'Don't worry.' "You've got this sister. You just gotta believe in yourself." And that was all it took for Mina to get herself together.

"Alright, said Mina. "I can do this. You can count on me."

"Glad to hear it," said Sally. She then turned to Sonic who was busy looking up at the billowing columns of smoke high in the sky while crossing his shoulders and pouting like a two-year-old. "How about you?"

"Yeah, yeah," said Sonic, "fine. Just grab on or whatever, I guess."

Sally looked at him as flat as a pancake. "You really know how to charm a lady, don't you?"

"To be honest," said Tails, "he's gotten better! I think."

"If you say so," said Sally. "All I know is that he and the mongoose are our tickets out of here. And that's all that matters right now. I just have to keep telling myself that."

"And what's that supposed to mean?", said Sonic.

"It means," said Johnny, "shut your piehole and help get us out of here, will you?"

"Fine, fine."

"Alright," said Sally, "I'll grab hold of Sonic and, I don't know, Johnny can grab hold of Mina, and the rest of you just make sure that each line's more or less even. Better safe than sorry." And they did so. Sally, Antione, and Tails were on Sonic's line, while Johnny, Sonia, and Manic were on Mina's. Two lines of four ready to book it. "Everyone ready?"

"Yes?" said Antione.

"Yup!", said Tails.

"Roger," said Johnny.

"You got it!", said Sonia.

"You bet!", said Manic.

"Um, I guess?", said Mina.

"Yeah, yeah, ready," said Sonic, not seeming to give a darn either way.

"Right," said Sally. "On the count of 3. 3… 2… 1… BLAST OFF!"

And blast off they did.


	8. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 8

"Snively!"

Eggman stormed into the command center of his laboratory, specially built for just such an occasion as taking over a kingdom. Snively, still as small and bald and shark-nosed as ever was sitting in a curved metallic chair in his green shirt in front of several giant monitors, all connected to the city-wide surveillance system that had been activated minutes ago. He swiveled the chair around and, mixing together the appropriate measure of deference and apathy like a pro, raised one thick eyebrow as he clasped his hands together.

Ah," he said, "good to see you back sir. I'd ask you if all went well, but thanks to this marvelous setup, I don't really need to, do I?"

"If you don't need to ask, then you also don't need to ask why I'm going to order you to send you the first batch of Buzzbombers after that the Princess and her menagerie of freaks."

Snively folded together his fingers as he smirked like the devil. "I can only fathom. Though if I were to guess, I'd say it's because Knothole forest is quite possibly the only place where they can escape our grasp. There's no doubt that is where they're planning on heading next."

"And they've got the means to do it. Eggman clenched his fist like a gung-ho gambler with a fistful of dollars in danger of losing a bet. "The mongoose is trouble, but the hedgehog is dynamite. I can feel it in my bones."

Snively slowly let his lips form a most putrid smile that, if one could smell a smile, would surely be stinking up the room. "Assuming you even have any bones to feel. Only Gaea knows if there's anything left under all of that blubber."

"Say that again, and I'll be using that nose of yours to clean the toilet, you oversized toothpick."

"Yes, sir," said Snively, getting the message.

"In any case, the lot of them still need dealing with. If they reach the forest, there's no telling whether or not I'll be able to find them unless they want me to, and we can't have that."

"You could always just burn the whole place down, sir," said Snively. "It would save you quite a lot of time and effort compared to searching out every single little tree."

"As tempting as such a thought is, it's not exactly the most viable of options. If I attempted to make a bonfire of the place now, we'd be at risk of setting fire to the surrounding plains, perhaps even the whole Island! A kingdom isn't exactly worth ruling if there's nothing left to rule."

"You have a point. Buzzbombers it is?"

"Buzzbombers it is." Eggman grinned like a maniac about to go on a killing spree. "On another note, how's the takeover of the rest of the city coming along?"

"Most excellently sir. Most of the guards and soldiers are either incapacitated or worse, and Director Who and that most infuriating skunk have flown the coop. Within an hour at most, the entire Capital should be under your control."

"Egg-cellent," said Eggman.

"There is one small hiccup," said Snively.

Eggman's right eye suddenly began to twitch under his round spectacles. "And just what would that be?", he growled.

Snively reacted almost like a scared little rabbit would to a vicious predator. "Well, you see sir, it's, um, Coolete. Marcus Coolete."

"That little sadsack's father?"

"The one and the same. He and his men are putting up quite a fight. Certainly more than we could have considered."

"Well, he is the General. As much as I hate to admit it, the man does know how to fight a war. But this isn't like any kind of war he's ever fought." He considered sending another pack of Buzzbombers their way, but as if showered by a wave of inspiration, he decided on something a tad more vicious. "On second thought, send in Sleet. He prefers to spend most of his time ordering his troops from the sidelines rather than getting into the thick of it himself. I want to see what he can do."

"Of course sir." And with several presses of several buttons on a control panel, the orders were sent.

"Right. That should take care of that. In the meantime, I'll be checking up on Grimer and our guests. Oh, and if Chirps stop by, do tell him to pay me a visit, will you?"

"Of course sir."

"Right then." Eggman started to make his way towards the metallic sliding doors. "Oh, and do let me know how it all goes, will you? I'd stay and watch, but duty calls."

"Of course sir. Why, I'll even save you a recording."

"Good man. Oh, and Snively?"

"Yes sir?"

Eggman then oh so slowly lifted up his spectacles to reveal the black and red cybernetics beneath, as though to give the forthcoming order just that extra touch of dread to really help it sink in. "Don't mess this up." He lowered his spectacles once more and continued on his merry way. And as he exited through the door, all Snively could say as he got back to work was…

"Over-sized omelet.

* * *

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"

Marcus Coolete was near the end of his rope. Most of his men had either been incapacitated or worse, and as he and his last remaining squad of troops darted into the nearest alleyway, he knew that in all likelihood that these thoughts could well be the last thoughts he would ever think. They had fought a good fight, but against foes such as these, a good fight just wasn't enough. All he could hope for now was that Antione was alright. And if he weren't, well, nothing a good sword forced down Robotnik's gullet wouldn't fix. Assuming he'd live that long.

He and his men then pulled their blasters out from their hips. They clicked them on and off, fiddling with the triggers and rattling them, but for whatever Gaea-forsaken reason, they still refused to fire. "That Grimer!", said Marcus. "It must have been his doing. An 'inspection' indeed."

A slightly nasally voice then spoke out from the other end of the alleyway, with just a slight dash of a foreign accent to boot. "And indeed it was."

Marcus slung his blaster back onto his belt and thrust his sword out towards the voice. Standing in the blazing light at the end was a tall and lean wolf with a wild mohawk dressed in a maroon shirt and cape. His cybernetic limbs, two legs and an arm, shined in the light, and he stood with such poise that one would almost swear that despite having no guards at his side, he had the upper hand. And judging from experience, Marcus thought he well might.

"As I was saying, I do believe you will find nothing wrong with our dear Grimer's inspection. He simply did what he set out to do. Nothing more. That your weapons are no longer working simply means he performed his duties. And most excellently at that."

"Who are you?", said Marcus, he and his men never giving an inch.

"Ah yes," said the wolf, "I suppose I have failed to introduce myself. My name is Sleet and, as you might have already guessed, I am in the good doctor's employ.

"I should have thought as much. You've come alone?"

"It appears that way, doesn't it?" Sleet's lips, smiling all this time, slowly opened up to reveal two rows of dangerously sharp teeth, so much so that one could swear you could use some of them as small daggers.

"In any case, I will personally see to it that I drive you back from whence you came." Marcus readied his sword, preparing like a skilled knight to rush forth at a moment's notice.

Sleet simply admired his metallic wrist, turning it back and forth as he studied it with the sheer focus of one who could honestly not give a damn. "I welcome you to try."

Marcus suddenly faltered. This Sleet. He was confident. Confident that no matter what he and his men did to him, they were sure to fail. No, sure to get slaughtered. Such a feat might have seemed outside of the realm of possibility, but even if he didn't know much about cybernetics, he still knew they could pack a punch. Depending on just how powerful they were, he and his men might not have stood a chance. It was a textbook case of picking your poison. Either they dealt with the swarms of SWATbots and Troopers on one end that could quite possibly spill their lily-livered guts out, or they instead dealt with one Mobian who would quite possibly spill your lily-livered guts out. And yet, of all the choices available to him, there was only one that seemed to grant the highest chance for survival. No matter how unlikely or foolhardy it appeared.

Marcus took a long, deep breath, and then, without an ounce of hesitation, stood his ground, knowing full well that there wasn't much of a shot at getting through either route alive. "We will do more than just try."

"Very well. I suppose we had better get this over with. Now tell me," he said, as he cracked his knuckles ever so delicately. "Did you want one lump, or two?

* * *

"Can't you slow down for a minute?! I think I'm gonna hurl!"

Sonia was clasping her hand to her mouth as she felt the first wave of nausea in her stomach, a most understandable reaction when it came to traveling at the speed of sound via Mobian link.

"No can do Sonia," said Sally, "sorry." Normally, such words spoken at such a high velocity would be nigh impossible to comprehend to anyone standing still, but seeing as both Sonic and Mina were racing across the plains underneath the warm afternoon sky at more or less the same speed with the others in tow, this wasn't a problem for the lot of them. "Until Sonic and Mina can get us to Knothole, we're just going to have to cope." To be fair, Sally was on the verge of screaming like a ninny out of sheer panic, but seeing as she now had to fill in for Daddy, well, that just wouldn't be proper. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself.

"I'm glad one of us is!", yelled Sonia. "I just hope someone isn't going to find themselves eating a faceful of high-speed vomit!"

"Lighten up cuz," said Manic. "Sonic and Mina were the only way out of Mobotropolis, and you know it."

"YOU'RE DARN RIGHT I KNOW IT!", shouted Sonia. "DO YOU THINK I'D BE YELLING AT YOU, YOU SPIKEYHEADED MORON, IF I DIDN'T?!"

"Yeah," said Manic, as cool as a spring breeze, "probably."

"I THINK SOMEONE WANTS A FACEFUL OF HIGH-SPEED VOMIT!" Meanwhile, Antione was busy yelping and whimpering away like a madman on his end. When one was floating in the wind like pieces of string with the only chance of not tumbling about towards who knows what being to hold on tight, anyone could get jumpy. And Antione was not everyone.

Tails and Johnny were both keeping a cool head in their respective chains, though Tails' blue eyes betrayed just the slightest hints of doubt. Mina was just trying to do her best, as she always did.

That just left Sonic. He was always running as fast as he could, testing his limits and just letting himself let loose, as much or as little as he wanted. He liked it that way, and who wouldn't? Only now, that wasn't the case, was it? Now he was told by his little bro and everyone else that his way of doing things just wasn't working out and that it was fact even a bit rude. This was news to him.

In any case, time enough for that later. He shook his head and continued on towards Knothole, which was getting closer and closer with every step. Maybe then he could sort things out because as far as he could tell, there was a lot to sort. At least he wouldn't have had to deal with all that incessant buzzing coming from right above his noggin.

Wait a minute.

"Uh, guys," said Tails, "do you hear something? I'm pretty sure it's right up above us and OH GOOD GAEA GUYS LOOK UP LOOK UP!

Sure enough, they all looked up. And what all of them saw was one seething mass of large dark blue robotic bees, all set on vaporizing the only living things in sight.

"Ah hell!" said Johnny.

"Damn it! Those must from be the Chemical Plant Zone!", said Sally. "Sonic, Mina, you think you can outrun them?"

"I don't know!" said Mina like a scared schoolgirl despite long being past that. "I'm still kind of new at this! We might end up in a ditch or something if we just trying running away nilly-willy!"

"And you call yourself the second fastest thing alive!", said Sonic.

"Well," said Mina, "I don't really, but I guess I see your point?"

"Look," said Sonic, "just follow my lead."

"Wait a minute," said Sally. "Mina, belay that order!"

"Um, okay?", said Mina.

"Hey" said Sonic, "I thought you wanted us to get you all out of here?"

"I do," said Sally, "but trust me, I have an idea."

As Sally and the others' little pow-wow went on, the Buzzbombers picked up in speed, starting to go after their prey in earnest.

"Sonic, Mina, the both of you need to start running in opposite directions! Divide their attention in half. One group of bees goes one way…"

"…the rest goes the other," said Sonic, as if he'd read the script and already knew just how this play went. "And then once we've got their interest, we run back towards one another and pass the other by, and they smash the living crap out of one another. Like I said, follow my lead!"

"Oh," said Sally, realizing she just made a complete fool of herself. Not the best start for an acting ruler. "Right. Carry on then."

"Right. Mina, let's—"

All of a sudden, the Buzzbombers stopped straight in midair and aimed their stingers at one and all. They started to glow a bright orange, and glowing balls of energy suddenly began to grow in front of them. And Tails had a pretty good idea of just what was going on. "BIG BRO, MINA!", he yelled. "THEY'RE GONNA FIRE! GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

"Fire?!", said Mina.

"Seriously?!", said Sonic. But one look up and, keeping Tails' warning in mind, they knew just what he meant. Mina screamed like a girl, which was only natural considering she was a girl, whereas Sonic simply yelped like a pussy. However, Tails noticed something odd. Looking up, he seemed to notice that the number of bombers seemed to be just roughly half the amount he had seen mere minutes ago. They couldn't have vanished, and they certainly couldn't have spontaneously combusted. Which meant only one thing. He looked to the other side, and there they were, just as he thought; the other half of the Buzzbombers, all ready to fire at a moment's notice. And as though a lightbulb suddenly turned on in his head, Tails knew how to take care of the Buzzbombers like so much broken shrapnel.

"Guys!", said Tails. "I know how we can still beat them, but you're going to have to listen to me and listen fast! Uh, is that okay Sally?"

"Tails," shouted Sally, "whatever you have to say, SAY IT!"

"Okay! Sonic, you need to stop running ASAP! I've got a plan, but I've got to do it myself, and I don't want me and everyone else being bounced around like tennis balls when we let go!"

Typically, both Sonic and Sally would be somewhat adverse to letting a kid try and get himself blown up on his lonesome, but given their current situation, they didn't have many alternatives. They could try dodging the blasts, but if they could take care of it here and now, wouldn't that be all the better?

"Oy, fine! Give me a minute!" Sonic then dug his foot into the dirt and came to as sudden a stop as he could. Everyone practically squished into his back like an accordion, but other than that, they were none the worse for wear. Mina did the same if only so that she didn't lose track of the others, and the result was just as expected.

"Okay!", said Tails. "Wish me luck."

"Wait, lil' bro!", said Sonic. "Just what are you even doing anyway?!" But it was too late. Tails had already taken off like a helicopter and was flying high in the sky. By this point, the Buzzbombers' stingers were glowing a dangerously red hot, but Tails didn't mind. The more destructive, the better. He flew up to them, positioning himself right in the middle, and stayed in place for about the next ten seconds or so, waiting for just the right moment to act.

"Lil bro!", called Sonic. "Get down from there, lil bro! Bad lil bro!"

"Calm down, Sonic," said Sally. "I don't like it as much as you do, but for now, he's the best hope we've got."

"She's probably right you know," said Johnny.

Tails very much hoped he was about to be proven wrong. However, much to his dismay, he was about to be proven right. As the seconds went on, the Buzzbombers suddenly changed the direction of their stingers, aiming them not at Sonic and the others, but at the nearest possible target; Tails. And with one last flashing of their eyes, they let loose and fired. At just that moment, Tails flew himself out of there like an airforce driver desperate to get off a moving plane. In one swift stroke, the blasts of each group of Buzzbomber's struck the other, resulting in two most glorious explosions of destruction that gained something of an extra spark of radiance under the midday sun. Bits of Buzzbombers' spread across the nearby plains, but the important thing was, for all intents and purposes, they were without a shadow of a doubt gone.

"Great job, Tails!", said Sally, patting Tails on his shoulder as he began to land. "Those come in handy, don't they?"

"I guess," said Tails. "The important thing though is that the Buzzbombers are off our trail, which just leaves…"

He turned to look at a giant forest stretching out into the distance like a gaping green abyss, so much so that it almost staggered belief.

"That."

"And that," said Sally, "is Knothole."

"Merci," said Antione, quivering at the natural monstrosity before him. "Uh, ahem, not that I do wish to stay here and face any more of whatever those were by any means, but is it possible if you please to take a raincheck? Perhaps? Maybe? It is a thought, no?"

"Dude," said Manic, "it's just a forest."

"One that few have come back from alive! You do not have to be afraid of the dark to, as they say, get the hint, no?!"

"Eh," said Johnny, "this doesn't look too bad. I've never camped out in anything this big, but trust me. I reckon I can guide us in and out of there in one piece."

"That's right," said Sally. "You said something about being from the Hilltop Zone on the way over. You probably know these kinds of places like the back of your hand, don't you?"

"Reckon I do," said Johnny.

"Good," said Sally. "Because like it or not, if we don't want Robotnik to find us, then that's where we're going to have to go."

And all Antione could say was, "Merci."

* * *

"Well, well. It seems your men wanted as many lumps as they could carry. Wouldn't you say, general?"

Marcus Coolete could scarcely believe it. In what seemed like a flash in the pan, every single one of his men had charged straight ahead towards Sleet, swords raised forward like mighty barbarians of old, only for said swords to break against his robotic arm like glass. Some of them were done in by their weapons; by sharp fragments breaking off and piercing through them at just the right spots. Others still were crushed by Sleet's' great strength, slamming them into brick walls like so much tissue paper. Of course, it was always possible that one of these brave warriors would get a lucky shot, but as the last of them had their heads bashed in, it it was clear that it wasn't to be.

"Your order, sir?"

Marcus braced himself. He knew that this was a fight he wasn't likely to win, that to even humor this monster could well mean his inevitable death. But he also knew that hordes of SWATbots and Troopers might as well have been waiting right outside his doorstep. Like it or not, this was it.

Without blinking an eye, he raised his sword, steeled himself, and like a man intent on one last desperate gamble, threw it towards Sleet's head like a mighty javelin. Without uttering a syllable, Sleet raised both of his arms like engines of destruction and caught it like catching a football. He then crunched it in his hands, swiftly turning it into one big ball of scrapheap.

"Any last words?", said Sleet, who was drinking it all in as much as he could.

Marcus simply spat on the ground, apparently having no more words to give.

"Very well." Sleet then rushed towards Marcus, spanning the distance between them in seconds, and lifted him up off the ground like he were a powerless whelp. Which in this particular moment was what Marcus was.

"You know," said Sleet, "I changed my mind. Regardless of your rather obnoxiously moral lifestyle, you can still be rather indispensable to us. We just need to put you to use."

"I would rather die than serve you," said Marcus.

"Oh, I am most sorry General," said Sleet, his lips curling up once more like a demented clown mask, "but as much as I do not hate to say it, you are not going to have much choice."


	9. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 9

"Shoo! Shoo! Get away! SHOO!"

Sonia was busy swatting away pesky mosquito's and the like as she and the others made their way through Knothole Forest. It was a sight to be sure. Tall, hulking trees reached to the heavens, their leaves covering up the sky like a canopy and only allowing speckles of sunlight to break through. Small plants and weeds dotted the landscape, and while most of these were benign, Johnny made sure to steer them all away from any bouts of poison ivy. There also wasn't a single beast to be seen, though the occasional bird could still be heard chirping in the distance.

Johnny led the way with a compass from his backpack, eyeing the terrain and laying out wooden markers that were obvious enough for them not to get lost, but obscure enough so that Eggman couldn't tell just where they were supposed to be. As they traipsed on, the light had begun to dim ever more orange as sunset started to spread over the forest.

"Come on, cuz," said Manic. "One little bug isn't gonna kill you."

"You don't know that!", said Sonia. "And besides, they sting like hell! If nothing else, they're annoying, and we'd be better off being done with them and just getting rid of the whole darn species!

"Honestly," said Sonic, "I gotta agree. I don't think they should all be exterminated or anything, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't piss me the heck off."

"You think this is bad," said Johnny, "you should see some of the bugs in the marshes near the Mystic Caves. Those suckers are dynamite, let me tell you."

"With all due respect," said Antione, his legs knocking, "I do not think I wish to know, to being frank."

"Really," said Mina, "I'm more afraid of just being here than anything else. What if we don't get out again? What if Robotnik finds us? What if a bunch of wolves find us and catch us and tear our legs off and—"

Antione promptly let out a yelp of terror like a small child who had just seen his own shadow. As soon as he did, Johnny leaped over to him and placed his hand straight over his mouth, his eyes scanning the forest like a wild animal searching for predators. The coast apparently clear, Johnny took his hand off of Antione, though his countenance was still as grim as could be.

"Do NOT do that again!", he whispered. "Not here, and not now! Don't know what could be lurking around in here, nevermind if Eggman ever tries to go looking for us. Understand?" Antione nodded weakly. His message clear, Johnny slowly backed away from Antione and got back to business as usual.

"Wow!", said Mina. "And he seemed like such a nice guy too."

"He is Mina," said Sally."I think. But he did have a point." She looked at Antione with the look that one can only give when they know the recipient did a very bad thing, and when Antoine chuckled oh so slightly, he knew that he had indeed done a very bad thing.

"Uh, ahem, sorry."

"Don't worry about it Antione," said Sally, deciding it was best to let it go for now. "We're all a bit jittery. And tense. I honestly haven't had a chance to think about…"

Sally's eyes then began to mist up, her thoughts of all that had happened in just the last few hours suddenly rushing to the forefront.

"Hey," said Tails, "you okay Sally?"

"I, I'm fine Tails. I…" Sally tried her best to wipe away the tears from her eyes, but try as they might, they just kept coming. Sonia started to hear Sally's sobbing from the back of the line and realized in an instant that her petty concerns weren't very important.

"Oh God." She hurried over to Sally and gave her a gentle yet fierce hug, almost like a sister. "Come on, come on, let it all out." And Sally did. The whole rest of the group stood still and silent as Sally leaned onto her shoulder, crying like a woman whose life just has been turned topsy-turvy. It wasn't a sob of epic proportions, but it was a good long cry nonetheless. Sonic almost thought of interrupting the two to tell them to break it up and get on with it, but one sharp look from Manic said that this would probably not be a wise move.

After a while, Sally's tears finally started to let up, and she wiped away whatever drops happened to remain. "Thanks, Sonia. I needed that."

"No problem. Besides, you're not the only one worried about their father."

"Come again?

"I hate to interrupt," said Johnny, "but I think I found what we're looking for." He pointed towards a clearing straight ahead of them. It was dry, spacious, and most notable of all, nonflammable. Perfect spot for a campfire.

"Right," said Johnny. "I've got a tent and some basic tools in my backpack here. That said, we're gonna need someone to set the tent, someone to start a fire, and send some people out looking for food."

"I'll handle that," said Sally. "If anyone should be giving the orders, it's me."

"You sure you're up for it Princess?"

"Just call me Sally, please. And thank you, but yes. I think I am."

It wasn't long before Sally gave assignments to one and all. She tasked Johnny and Sonia with finding food on account of Johnny being the only one among them who could tell whether or not something was poisonous, while Sonia had a bit of experience camping and foraging for food herself, even if she was never too fond of it.

She then gave Sonia and Manic the job of setting the tent, and while one may think that the two fastest things alive would be able to set up as something as simple as a tent posthaste, the reality was that neither of them really had to be out in the wilderness for long thanks to their unique modes of transportation. The result was that the both of them didn't know the first thing about how to pitch one. They managed to finally get it in done about half an hour, but only because they were able to cram in three hours worth of trial and error worth at the speed of sound. It was like watching a circus on fast forward, and had a sort of strange ironic beauty all its' own.

Tails, Manic, and Sally were responsible for making the fire, and while Sally didn't know the first thing about it, both Tails and Manic thankfully did. That just left Antione, who agreed in a heartbeat to be the resident chef. Johnny and Sonia soon came back with a number of vegetables, herbs and spices, and even a couple of dead rabbits. ("One good whack with this mace is all it takes," said Johnny.)

Despite his initial reluctance to so much as touch a recently dead unskinned carcass, Antione soon went to work. Taking out a small pot and various utensils from Johnny's pack, he filled the pot with water from a nearby stream, heated it to boiling temperatures, and went to work on making a soup fit for royalty, which considering that one of their present company WAS royalty was fitting. Just about everyone had some bowls and utensils stuffed away in packs and satchels for the road, so without further ado, they all took several spoonfuls and dug in.

"Mmmm!", said Sonic. "Hey, Ant', you really are good for something! This has gotta be the best thing I've ever had this side of chilidogs!"

Antione, tugging at the fur on the neck like a collar, as if on the verge of perspiring. "Well, I would not know about that..."

"He's right you know," said Tails. "This isn't all that bad. It's actually pretty good!"

"Well, in training in the army, we are not usually given, shall we say, the most palatable of cuisines. But it is my opinion that an army that marches on its' stomach needs to be able to keep its' inners within said stomach as well. So if the army is not willing to do this for their soldiers, then I must figure that I must do it for myself if nothing else. And," he said, taking a sip from his bowl, "I must say, I do believe I have succeeded. Magnifique!"

"You should be proud, Antione," said Sally. "You've really outdone yourself."

"I"ll say," said Johnny. "I've been making stews out in places like this for longer than I can count and I've gotta say, I reckon this is the best one I ever had."

"Well, now that we're no longer marching on an empty stomach, as Antione said, that just leaves our first order of business. Where do we go from here?"

"Like I said," said Sonic, "we should just go in and take old Eggface out! Head in, beat the crap out of him, and we can all go do whatever."

"This ain't a game," said Johnny.

"Yeah, cuz," said Manic. "This is serious business. I think. You want to run all of this by us, Princess? Just so we're all on the same page."

"Oh, sorry," said Sally. "I guess I've gotten so caught up in everything going on around me that I haven't bothered to explain much of anything, have I?"

"Don't worry about it," said Johnny. "Just take it from the top."

And so she did. She told every little detail. About how her father, in a bid to improve the Acorn Kingdom's standard of living, made a deal with one Doctor Robotnik to do just that, using his considerable skills to get the kingdom on par with the rest of the world in exchange for access to the kingdom's treasury and resources. Of how she tried to infiltrate Robotnik's base and failed. "And the rest, you already know." She hid her face in her bowl as if in that moment, she couldn't bear to face the others.

"Yikes," said Manic. "Talk about a hostile takeover."

"To be honest," said Sonia, "I kind of suspected this sort of thing would happen."

"Come again?", said Sally.

"Well, I mentioned my father earlier, right? Draco Corniloni, one of the most powerful nobles in the whole kingdom. And one of the richest to boot."

"Corniloni?" said Sally. "But he lives in Mobotropolis." And like a bullet to the brain, it hit her like a brick. "Oh God, he must have still been there when Eggman attacked! I'm so sorry!"

"Uh, yeah, he just got back from a business trip over in Starlight City. Making connections and the like. But please, don't worry about it. I'm sure he'll be okay. And even if he isn't, well, what happens happens."

This, Sally hadn't expected. She knew Sonia cared for her father. She had said so herself, and she could see it in her eyes. And yet, everything else about her, her words, her body language; it all seemed to suggest a woman who honestly could not give a damn.

"Anyway, men like him have connections, so my father already knew about Eggman from the moment he and your father made that deal. And anyone making a deal like that isn't doing it solely for altruistic reasons, if at all. Didn't suspect he'd try to pull something like this though."

Sonic took another heaping helping of stew as he added his own two cents. "Yeah, you ask me, old Buttnik's got scrambled eggs for brains. I mean, no offense, but this place ain't exactly an evil overlord's wet dream."

"No," said Tails, "but it's the perfect place to build a power base. Think about it. He makes a deal with the King to use his treasury and resources in exchange for increasing the kingdom's standard of living. Which he does, but only to bolster his forces and arrange things in his favor, and when he's ready, he takes over the capital in a heartbeat. And now, once he's conquered the rest of the island, he can start issuing surgical strikes on the other islands, taking them over one island at a time and making himself even stronger with each conquest. Then he can move on to Down Undah, and from there, maybe even the boundaries of the Federation! And he'll just keep going from there."

"You're pretty smart for a pipsqueak, aren't you?", said Manic, having another spoonful of stew.

"It's Tails, and I'm twelve. I'm not that much of a pipsqueak."

"Anyway," said Sally, "Tails is right. As much as I hate to admit it, my father's kingdom is the least of our worries. If he takes it over, there's no telling what he'll do next. And I won't let him do what he did here anywhere else. And not with my fathers' kingdom. Do you understand me?" She looked at them all with the blazing yet steely fire of a thousand suns wrapped in ten solid sheets of adamantium. In other words, she meant business. They all nodded in agreement, tugging their furry or quilled collars as though she was giving off the heat of a thousand suns herself.

"That said," she said, "I'm not going to force anyone to do anything they don't want to do. Antione may be a royal guard or at least one in training, but the rest of you are free citizens, and I don't intend on pulling a draft. I couldn't even if I wanted to. Some of you aren't even from here! So instead, I'm going to ask all of you one simple question: Will you help me? Because I need all the help I can get."

All of them except for Antione, whose mind had already been made up, looked around at one another, suddenly faced with the most daunting prospect to ever haunt a living soul: A choice. To be fair, it was a hard thing to ask. They had been dragged into this with no choice but to follow along, but now, they had a chance. A chance to back out now if they so chose. To leave this island, never look back, and hope it all turned out for the best. To abandon this young princess in her hour of need—

"Yeah, why the hell not?" Sonic thrusted his hand into the air like a rocket, making it clear to all concerned just what choice he decided to go with. "Like I said, we go in, bust some heads, break some eggs, and take out old Eggface before he even knew what hit him. Might even be fun!"

"I still don't think it's going to be that simple," said Sally, "but I still appreciate the help. And to be honest, I'm not sure I could do this without you. Against Eggman's robots, we're going to need all the firepower we can muster. Without you, I'm not sure we'd stand a chance."

"Uh, then, I guess I'm in too." Mina slowly rose up off the ground, dusting off her skirt and adjusting her hairpins as she did so. "To be honest, I'm scared. Part of me just wants to look away, to turn my back on all of this and forget any of this ever happened. To not get involved. But I can't. Sonic isn't the only powerhouse you've got. As much I'm scared even to say it, you can count me in too!"

"And me," said Tails. "I may have just met Big Bro yesterday, but if he's willing to help, then so am I. Part of me's scared, sure, but I know at least half of us are. But I'm not going to let anyone suffer on my watch."

"That goes double for me," said Johnny. "I made the mistake of just standing by once. I ain't doing it again. Whatever I can do, count me in."

"Well," said Manic to Sonia, "if both cuz; and Mina are in, then I guess we're in too, aren't we Sonia?"

"Darn tooting! Besides, my father's still trapped somewhere in there. As complicated as it is between us, I'm not going to see Eggman do whatever he wants to him! Or anyone else."

"And of course," said Antione, "wherever you go, I go, Sally. Even if I do not always particularly want to."

Sally was speechless. She tried to say something, anything, to let them all know just how much this meant to her. That she thought they all might up and desert her if they got the chance. Anything at all. But instead, all she could muster was one slow tear running down her cheek and, after what seemed like forever, a soft, simple, "Thank you."

"Hey, don't thank us yet!", said Sonic. "We still gotta kick Buttnick's heiny!"

"Yes." Sally wiped the tear from her cheek as she slowly and steadily got herself together. "Yes we do. But first thing's first. We need to rescue my father. And I think I know how to do it."


	10. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 10

"This is disgusting!"

Sonic, Sally, Sonia, Manic, and Antione were traipsing alongside some rather vile sludge in what seemed to be a sewer system of some sort. Tunnels with streams of grimy water and sludge ran for what seemed like miles with little end in sight. No-one in their right mind short of engineers or laborers would so much as set foot down there. Which was making Sonia question her sanity.

"Calm down, cuz," said Manic. "We're not walking through it, right? What's there to worry about?"

"There's plenty to worry about! What if we fall in?! I just had my hair done a couple of days ago!"

"Methinks," said Antione, "that this is not very much a big deal. As it were."

"Is it to me!", said Sonia. "If a girl doesn't have her looks, what does she have?"

Manic rolled his eyes as though he couldn't believe a word of this, but for now, this was just something they'd all have to put up with. In the meantime, Sonic and Sally were at the front, with Sally leading the way with Nicole in hand.

"Are we there yet?", asked Sonic.

"NEGATIVE," said Nicole. "STUDIES SHOW THIS IS THE THIRD TIME YOU HAVE HAVE ASKED THIS QUESTION. IF I WERE A MOBIAN, I WOULD SAY THAT WOULD BE VERY, VERY ANNOYING."

"She's right you know," said Sally.

"So?", said Sonic. "We've been walking here for what feels like ages!"

"It's been twenty minutes Sonic," said Sally.

"I know, and it's killing me! If you'd let me just speed you all over there, we would have been there and won this already!"

Sally started to wonder if she needed Sonic as much as she thought she did. "We can't just speed over there without knowing exactly where it is, and with just how this works, we won't know for sure until we get close enough. Remember the tent? If we don't figure out where we're going first, we could end up traveling towards who knows where until doomsday, which I don't think either of us wants."

"Yeah, but I don't know. I'm used to just zipping over wherever I need to go and getting out of there in five minutes pat. Go in, get her done, get out. Easy peasy. Except this ain't easy."

Sally continued looking at Nicole, as though she couldn't bear to look at the most obnoxious thing alive. "It is easy. It just takes time. And self-control. These sewers are the only way in and out of Robotnik's lab without getting caught, and that's what's important right now."

"All I'm saying is, for you, this might not be that long at all, but for me, it feels like forever! I need some action, a chance to move, to let the lead out! And this doesn't feel like letting the lead out."

"We could have always sent Mina along instead you know. For all her insecurities, I don't think she'd have a problem with this.

"Eh, I wasn't gonna let her get the credit. Sides, there's only room for one fastest thing alive, and that's me."

"Did anyone ever tell you you're insufferable?"

"My Uncle Chuck did, all the time. My folks weren't always there to look after me, always going on trips and stuff, so my unc always came over and made sure I wasn't getting into any trouble. Not that it mattered. I'm the same guy today as I was back then!"

"And that's what scares me the most," said Sally, as flatly as flatbread.

"Which means what exactly?"

"I shouldn't even have to answer that. "Sally starting to lose her patience like someone getting fed up with their pet dog. "In any case, we're here. Or at least according to Nicole's map anyway."

"Sweet! Uh, where's here?

"Right here," said Manic, finally butting in. He began to feel his way along the wall much to everyone's confusion and bafflement, as though he were attempting to crack a safe to get to the treasure that lay hidden safely inside. And in short order, he found it.

"Bingo! Ladies and gentlemen, I do believe this is the entrance you were looking for?"

"Excuse me," said Antione, "but what entrance? There is nothing there but a brick wall."

"What's one man's brick wall is another man's doorway. Observe!" Manic pushed in one of the bricks ever so gently and backed away so fast that one could almost believe he was supersonic, not that this was the case. They could all hear a faint rumbling from the wall, and almost like magic, it slowly moved back one good layer and slid over to the side, revealing one spiral staircase in its' place."

"Magnifique!"," said Antione.

"Indeed," said Sally. "Magnifique. Castle Acorn has had secret entrances upon secret entrances since its' inception, but its' been so long since anyone's had to use them that they might as well not exist. That is to say, no-one knows where they are."

"Except me," said Manic. "Let's just say I did quite a bit of, uh, exploring back in the day. I know places like these like the back of my hand."

"And that's the problem, isn't it?" Sonia had folded her arms and was looking at Manic rather sternly, like a mother on the verge of admonishing a naughty child.

"Well," said Manic, suddenly a bit skittish, "the less said about that, the better. Let's go, shall we?"

"Just one thing," said Sonic. "I hate to ask, but this isn't Castle Acorn, is it?"

"Quite right," said Sally. "But there was an old warehouse that also had a secret entrance or two, and it just so happens that Eggman's lab was built right over where it used to be. With any luck, it should still be there."

"That's music to my ears! Though you know, I do wish lil bro was here. He would've loved this!"

"I was not going to let Tails fly straight into the heart of an evil genius' lair!"

"And why the hell not? He's smart, isn't he? You said so yourself!"

"He is also twelve years old! And I'm not going to have a child's death on my conscience."

"Oy, fine. I guess we're not gonna be here long enough for it to matter anyway. We go in, get the king, beat up Eggman, and get out. Easey peasy. Now, if you don't mind me, I'm gonna get moving. Later!" In a flash, Sonic was off, racing up the stairs like a speeding blue bullet.

"Oh no." Sally put a hand to her forehead to cradle the oncoming headache. "I should've brought Mina. Mina's calm and responsible. Mine would have listened to whatever I had to say. Mina wouldn't have gone running off halfcocked like a brazen lunatic!"

"That's our cuz," said Manic. "Don't worry about too much about it, Sally. Cuz always goes off to do his own thing, but he also doesn't have much of a sense of direction. At least when it comes to places like this."

"Which means what?"

"Which means," said Sonia, "the second he realizes that he doesn't have a clue where he's going and that we're the only ones with the map, he'll be running back here sooner than I can say…"

And sure enough, before they knew it, Sonic came back running. "Uh, ahem, sorry about that. Anyone got the map?"

"…succotash."

* * *

"We are not amused."

King Acorn was sitting across from Eggman in the most luxurious prison cell one had ever seen. There were jewelry and baubles spread across the drawers, and the carpet consisted of the most eloquently woven plaid the King had seen in his lifetime. The ceiling was a beautiful gold and so were the walls, and a nice shiny egg-holder stood tall in the center of the mahogany table. Both Eggman and the King were seated in comfy velvet chairs, and they looked at one another as if the other were going to turn their heads just enough for one to beat some sense into the other any minute now.

"Then what does amuse you?" said Eggman. "Because to be perfectly honest, absolutely nothing seems to do the trick.

"And why should you care one whit about my well-being?", said the King. "You did stick me in that overgrown orange tumor after all."

Said 'overgrown orange tumor' was standing in the back of the room, keeping a close eye on the proceedings. "Hey!"

"That I did. But the fact is that you could be a most useful commodity. Someone the people can rally around, calm the populace, get them on my side."

"And why in Gaea's name would I do such a thing?", said the King, as blandly as wet cardboard.

"Because if you don't, then I'll have no choice but to, shall we say, tie up some loose ends. And you would be first on the chopping block.

"I see. How so?"

Eggman smiled as though he were just about to cook himself a very nice and tasty omelet. "Let's just keep that a surprise for now, but suffice to say, I don't think you'd appreciate it all that much. At all really." He then got up from his comfy chair, admiring the egg holder for a moment before getting back to business. In any case, I'll give you an hour or so to think it over. This may be cliche, but I do hope you'll make the right decision. For my sake."

"Just one question."

"If it will at all amuse you."

"Why?"

"Why not?" Eggman pushed back his spectacles as he leered out from under them like a man who couldn't give two figs.

"That's it? You desecrated my nation's capital, attempted to take my daughter hostage, took ME hostage, and just because you thought 'Why not?'"

Eggman sat back down in his chair, folding his hands together like a skilled CEO. "It's also business. You see, there are only two types of people in this world. Those who are ruled, and those who rule. I am determined to be among those who rule, and if that means ousting you from that lofty position to reach it myself in the long term, then so be it."

"You had no right!", yelled the King.

"Might makes all the right. If you disagree with that assessment, take it up with Dingo. I'm sure he'd be more than willing to discuss things with you on that point. If you have nothing further, then that will be all. Have a nice day, your highness."

Eggman then got back up out of his chair and left the room, with the only thing the King able to do being to glare at Eggman like a man possessed, all the while muttering under his breath…

"Oversized omelet."

* * *

"Porker. Porker! Get up!"

Porker Lewis sat up rapt with attention after an initially groggy start. He slept like a pig, but seeing as he WAS a pig, that was only proper. He saw Tekno sitting at the opposite end of the cell, not that it was a very large cell to begin with. "Tekno? What's going on?"

"Someone's coming this way," she said, having difficulty keeping eye contact as usual. " Probably Grimer. Can tell by his footsteps."

"Grimer?" He crawled up to the cell, desperate to get a closer peek. Sure enough, someone was coming around the corner, and all Porker needed to see was that slimy green skin to know who it was. As he marched closer, he could see that Grimer was carrying a tray on each hand as he walked through the grey steely corridors, smiling with vim and vigor as he did so.

"Rise and shine!", said Grimer, tapping the bars to Porker and Tekno's cell with his foot as he finally arrived. "Breakfast is served." He placed the two trays down upon the ground like a born waiter even though he likely never waited a single day in his life, and pushed them underneath the bars via the small opening that was just large enough to shove them through. "Bon appetit!"

One of the trays was full of birdseed with a small dish of water, apparently meant for Tekno. As though she were conducting a science experiment, she picked up one single seed and held it for a moment, staring it down as though it had provoked her in some way before unleashing her hold and letting it drop down into the sea of birdseed below. "Not hungry," she said.

The other tray, presumably meant for Porker, might as well have been a sick joke. It was none other than eggs and, well, bacon. Arranged in just such a way to make one big old happy face no less. Porker was not amused. He picked up the tray and hurled it against the bars, the food and the tray dropping to the ground like crumbled up paper.

"My dear Porker," said Grimer, "what seems to be the trouble? Was the bacon not crispy enough for you?"

"It was crispy enough alright. And that's the problem! How'd you like it if I cooked you some meatloaf made from whatever the heck you are?"

"They weren't made from Mobian pigs, were they?"

"It's the principle of the thing."

"Well, rest assured, I perfectly understand where you're coming from. Believe me, this was the master's idea, not mine."

"Still just do whatever he tells you," said Tekno. "Trained lapdog. You might as well be just that."

Grimer was starting to get unnerved by Tekno's stunted sentences and accusations. "I just so happen to believe without a shadow of a doubt in Doctor Eggman's goals, and if the means to achieve those goals involves following his commands and stepping on a few puppies along the way, so be it."

"Grimer," said Porker, "you worked with us for weeks. For months. We were starting to see you as more than just our boss. You were one of us. So now we're expected to believe you were just faking it the whole time?"

"Oh no, not at all! Believe me, that was the intent. But over the months, I did come to care for the both of you, truly.

"Still betrayed us," said Tekno, picking up and dropping another speck of bird seed. "Can't expect us to just forgive that."

"Oh, that's such a harsh word. I prefer to see it as backing the right horse myself. You two simply backed the wrong one. Why, I'm not sure you even betted on a horse in the first place."

"Talking about non-literal horses, right?", said Tekno, with complete and utter sincerity. "Just so we're all on the same page." She received a couple of funny looks from both Porker and Grimer alike, as the both of them wondered why she would even need to ask such a question.

"Yes?" Porker shrugged his broad shoulders like a man who wasn't sure whether one should point up or down.

"Oh, good. Sorry about that. Just needed to know!"

"You need to know a lot of things," Porker cared for Tekno, but there were times when he wondered if maybe he should just be done with her, especially when she was like this. And any time he thought that resulted in nothing less than shame and self-loathing. Best to move on.

Just then, a series of loud steps like someone banging a crowbar on a metal plate could be heard around the hall, as if announcing their arrival. "Oh yes!", said Grimer. "As of this morning, you have two new cellmates."

"Two?", said Porker.

"Yes. One of them you might know quite well. We caught him the other night, but let's just say we had to rough up him a bit. As for the other one, well, you'll see. In any case, they should be here just about now."

And indeed they were. Marching from around the corner were three large SWATbots. One of them was lugging none other than Marcus Coolet, general of the King's royal forces, on his shoulder like a sack of meat. Porker was mortified. However, the next one they brought in was something more of an enigma. Dragged along the ground by the other two SWATbots was a hulking purple walrus wearing a yellow cap on backward. His legs limped slowly across the floor, almost as if he weren't even among the living.

"What did you do to him?!"

"Not much. This fellow came wandering into Mobotrobolis — oh, ahem, Robotropolis — early this morning. He apparently came to see the festival but arrived just a tad late. Well, we couldn't have some outsider going around ruining things, could we?"

"Not dead?", said Tekno, almost staring into nothingness.

"Hm?" Grimer still wasn't sure what to make of her. He knew she had issues, but he had never seen her THIS bad. "Uh, ahem, no, though I'll bet he'll wish he was. He wouldn't let himself be taken in by the nice robots with the lasers on their wrists, so we had to toss him around a tad. Still, he's a hardy fellow. I'm sure he'll be right as rain in a week or two."

"A WEEK?!", shouted Porker.

"Now now, is that a way to speak to your superior? In any case, the cell should be large enough to accommodate the four of you. And don't even think of trying to escape. Lest you want to be bacon. Nothing personal, you understand."

"That just makes it even worse."

"I suppose so." Grimer whipped out his blaster from his coat as he took out a key from his pocket. He aimed the blaster squarely at Porker, who balked just as quickly as he had risen to anger. He started to stutter, his strength and vigor leaving him as though it were flushed straight out of his system.

"Uh, ahem, I don't suppose we can, uh, just forget about that whole thing?"

"You know Porker, if you ever want to move up in the world, you have to learn to stick to your guns. Case in point." He cocked his blaster, making his statement clear. He unlocked and opened the cell, making sure that everyone already in stayed put. And as Marcus and Rotor were thrown in like so much refuse, Porker and Tekno did just that. "Good boy. Anyway, you and Tekno will be expected to help further refine the roboticizer today. It's already working well enough, but there are still a few fine touches here and there it could use."

"You seriously expect us to help you? You've got to realize that's a lost cause at this point."

"I don't believe so. After all, I still have the gun. And you don't exactly respond well to pressure, do you?"

Porker didn't say a thing.

"Good. If a tad disappointing. I like you Porker, but you just don't have the guts."

"Maybe. But at least I'm not sucking up to the boss."

Grimers' trigger finger placed itself atop of, well, the trigger of his blaster, as if a grievous offense had just been made to his person had without a single act of real provocation. (Though in actuality, there was.) "In any case, I"m a very busy man. I have places to be and barely any time to get there, so," he said after locking the cell door once again, "so long! Don't be a stranger!" He walked off with a SWATbot in tow, leaving two behind to guard the cell just in case.

"Coyote," said Tekno, "and walrus. Day just couldn't be any better."

"You're telling me," said Porker.

* * *

"Oh, my stars…"

Bunnie awoke from her forcefully induced slumber to find herself in a wide glass tube, though others would know it better as the Roboticizer. "What in tarnation am I doing in this place?" She could see that she was in a large lab of some sort, with nothing else around. Wait, that wasn't right. There was one other thing. On the other side of the glass tube was the same squirrel she saw being lugged around earlier, hovering horizontally in the air over some sort of glowing platform and seemingly being unable to move. "Uh, hello? You okay?"

The squirrel didn't respond, staying still almost like a statue. Perhaps it was some sort of suspended animation?

"Uh, my name's Bunnie," she said. "If you can hear me, it would really, REALLY help if you could speak up, because blessed be my whiskers if I know what's going on!"

Suddenly, as though in answer to her prayers, the squirrel spoke. "Ah, shut your piehole!"

"Oh thank the stars! Though I gotta say, that wasn't very nice."

"What's it to you? I'm hovering over a platform from something out of some nuts' nightmares after getting knocked out by I don't even know what; being very nice ain't exactly high on my priority list."

"Well it should be. You should know how to treat a lady!"

"Eh, whatever. All I know that I'm stuck in some sort of horrorshow and I can't do anything but yap my jaw off, which is the only reason why I'm even talking to you by the way."

"So what's your name?" The squirrel didn't say at first as if it normally would have been something that needed to be pried out of him, but given the circumstances, he didn't see why not.

"Shorty. Shorty the squirrel. Not that it means anything."

"Charmed! Well, as far as I can tell…" Bunnie tried to smash open the glass with her large furry feet, but only succeeded in causing several hollow chinks to resound throughout the room. "…we might be in here for a while. So until we can figure out just why we're here or who's doing this, we might as well talk."

"Or we might as well not. I ain't much of a people person."

"Well, sorry, just tryin' to make conversation. Though I gotta say, it's not like you're gonna be able to do much else. And I reckon it might get pretty lonely with no-one to talk to."

This was an excellent point.

"Fine. You go first."

"Well there isn't much to tell. I came to Mobotropolis from the good old country to try and do what I really wanted to do."

"Which is?"

"Why, fashion of course!"

"Of course."

"More specifically, I wanted to be a beautician or a hair stylist, or maybe both! Just making people look good so that maybe they can feel good. You know what I'm saying?"

"Not really, no," said Shorty, who could have cared less.

"I'll pretend I didn't hear that, though with my ears, that's pretty tough to do. Anyhoo, that's what I wanted to do with myself, so as soon as I could, I headed on over to Mobotropolis and set up shop! Though I guess I might not have much of a shop anymore after this. Well, that's my life story. You?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Oh come on, fair's fair! Isn't there even the little tiniest bit you've been itchin' to talk to someone about? What about your parents?"

"Like I said, I don't wanna talk about it."

"Well, alright. Still don't see why you don't want to talk about your parents. I mean, I don't wanna be rude, but did they abandon your or somethin'? Kick you out? Something like-?"

"I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!"

Bunnie's fur stood on end, practically ready to jump. "Whoah, I'm sorry, really! I didn't think it was that touchy of a subject, honest! Tell you what, you don't want to talk about your parents, we won't talk about your parents. Everyone's got something they don't want to talk about."

"Oy." Shorty closed his eyes and knitted his brows, and if he could pinch them, he would have. "Look, it isn't you. It's just, my parents are kinda a touchy subject. My whole life's a touchy subject."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that, believe me."

"You know, I can't believe I'm saying this, but thanks. If nothing else, you did manage to get me pissed off about something else for a change. Which in situations like this is kind of a blessing."

"Uh, thanks, I guess."

Just then, through the only pair of metal sliding doors around came Grimer, fixing his bowtie and slicking back his black hair as he strolled to the center of the room. "Ah! Greeting and salutations! I trust you're all perfectly comfortable?"

"How is being tossed in a glass tube comfortable?!", shouted Bunny.

"Or being stuck floating above something out of my nightmares," said Shorty. "The glowing oval of death I calls it. Though I can tell you, there's gonna be a death or two if someone doesn't GET ME DOWN FROM HERE ASAP! UNDERSTAND ME?!"

Grimer was as unflappable as a flightless fowl. " Pefectly. But just because I understand you doesn't mean I'm just going to let you go. You must understand that don't you? Oh, I do feel sympathy for you, I truly do, but as they say, duty calls! And in this case, it's making sure that our first two subjects for our two most important projects are primed and ready to become Doctor Eggman's unwilling guinea pigs."

"What the hell are you babbling on about?", said Shorty.

"That's what I'd like to know,' said Bunnie.

"Oh, it's quite simple." Grimer waltzed over to a large nearby computer monitor and flipped a switch. The monitor stirred to life in an instant, but in a moment, both Bunnie and Short would have wished it hadn't. On the screen appeared some sort of strange contraption the likes of which the duo had never seen before. It was a metallic grey suit with black boots and gloves and red highlights, completely sealed despite such flourishes. "Let me introduce our first project: The Cybernick."

"Cybernick?", said Shorty. "What's that, some new way of stealing dough?"

"No, but it is a new way of making superpowered footsoldiers. Let me back up for a moment." Grimer flicked another switch and the image on the monitor changed in a flash. In the Cybernick's place was some of roundish metal ladybug on a giant wheel and with large metal buckteeth, as well as two laster blasters attached to the front. "This is a standard issue Badnik. We call it the motobug. These badniks have gone into production just recently and there are all sorts of different kinds, but they all share one thing in common. They all require a power source. An abundant, renewable power source."

"What, like the slime on your skin? Hell, you've probably got enough of it to fuel a power plant with."

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. "Grimer then flicked another switch, and there on the screen in the middle of the motobug was the robot's center; a nice fat juicy non-Mobian piglet.

Bunnie could scarcely believe it. "My stars and garters." It was as if all the wind in the world had been blown straight out of her sails.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PLAYING AT?!", yelled Shortfuse. "THAT'S AN ANIMAL IN THERE!"

"Indeed it is," said Grimer, "and it's the most potent energy source imaginable short of Mobians or, I suppose, humans. The animals keep the Badniks in tip-top condition without the need of providing a recharge, while the Badnik supplies the animal with enough energy to live another day. And then some."

"That is sick. Ingenious, but sick."

"It's not ingenious," said Bunnie, "it's awful is what it is!"

"I'm sorry you think so, truly I am. But it beats having to waste more of our precious energy and electricity to create these masterpieces, don't you think? Though the true masterpiece is yet to come." Grimer again flicked another switch, and the screen flipped right back to the Cybernick. "Now, this Cybernick has the potential to be more powerful than any of our run of the mill Badnicks put together. Flight, strength, laser blasts, the works. But this is a Badnick so powerful that one little normal animal just isn't enough to power it for more than thirty minutes, and from our research, there's only one thing that can."

"And what's that?" Shorty didn't take his eyes off of Grimer for even a moment, not that he could.

"A full blown Mobian," said Grimer, matter of fact.

"You're nuts!", said Bunnie. "Well, let me tell you, you want me in there, you're gonna have to make me!"

"Oh, there's no need to worry about that. The good Doctor has something different in mind for you."

"And what pray tell would that be?"

"Why, It's simple. You see that glass tube you're trapped in?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Have you wondered just what that glass tube is for?"

"Course, though for the life of me, I still can't figure it out."

"Well, let me try to put this as delicately as possible. This machine, the Roboticizer, is designed to transmute living flesh into cold, unfeeling circuitry. A robot, as it were."

"And just where does little old me figure into this? Though as Bunnie's whiskers stood on end, part of her already knew the answer.

"Why," said Grimer, "isn't it obvious? You're going to be our first Mobian test subject!"

Bunnie's eyes went wide, as though the whole world was suddenly crashing in and it took all she had just so see straight. "Say that again?"

"Let me put it another way. This machine's purpose is to turn Mobians into our perfectly unwilling robotic subjects. Free labor is the best labor after all. And you're going pave the way for all roboticized Mobians that come after you. You should be honored!"

"Honored? HONORED?!", she shouted. "BY MY WHISKERS I'M HONORED! I'M HONORED YOU'D EVEN THINK SUCH A THING!"

"Temper, temper. There's no point in getting so upset. The process is due to begin in about ten minutes or so, and at this stage, there's not much you can do to stop it. And the same goes for you." Grimer turned towards Shorty, grinning like a victor about to deliver the coup de grace. "As you may have already deduced, our furry friend over here gets the chamber, but you get the suit. Trust me, as soon as you're wearing it, you'll feel like a whole new squirrel!"

"You try and put that on me," said Shorty, "and you''re gonna be feelin' one less nose!"

"Ah, the inevitable resistance. I wouldn't have it any other way. I will say that I am sorry for what's about to happen to the both of you, and I do wish that there was some way to avoid this, but alas, all's fair in love and war."

One more press of a switch and a timer suddenly flashed onto the computer, clocking in at a solid ten minutes. Nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds. Nine minutes and fifty-eight seconds. Nine minutes and fifty-seven seconds…

This was going to be a LONG ten minutes.


	11. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 11

"SNIVELY!"

Snively stood perfectly still in his chair like a statue as Eggman stormed into the control room with Sleet at his side. He took a quick peek behind before retracting his head as quick as he could, and as he bit his fingernails in trepidation, he wondered if this was it.

"Yes sir?", he squeaked.

"Forgive me if memory fails me, dear nephew," said Eggman, "but I was in this very same room just last night, correct?"

"Yes sir."

"And you do remember me telling you to send a pack of buzzbombers after the rodents post-haste, isn't that that so?"

"That is so."

"Indeed. And you do know that all buzzbombers are ordered to return to base once they have finished this task, do you not?"

"Yes I do sir."

"Indeed. In which case, WHERE ARE THE BUZZBOMBERS?!"

Snively just couldn't take it. He swiveled around in his chair like a whirling dervy, only ending after he'd gotten a few seconds to calm his words. "It wasn't my fault sir! The bombers had them on the run, they were running scared, everything appeared to be going so well—!"

Eggman stomped over to Snively and lifted him up by the front like an old black and white cartoon from the Federation. "If they were going so well, then where are my buzzbombers?!"

"Ah, yes," muttered Snively, "well, it's fairly simple really! It's just that, I mean, that is to say…"

"WHAT?!" Eggman roared

Snively couldn't delay the news any longer. "We lost them."

"TO WHOM!?"

"I don't know! I mean, it was probably the Princess and her accomplices, but who among them and how they could have done it—"

"Robotnik!" Another voice from the nearby door resounded throughout the adjacent corridor as it got closer and closer. Eggman could only groan like a man who couldn't imagine things could get worse, only for them to do just that.

"Oh, not now," he muttered. Before he could utter so much as another syllable, into the monitor room marched a tall overly muscular rooster wearing blue jeans and a black leather jacket, with his comb combed like a mohawk. He was hulking and he was pissed, and a pissed hulked rooster isn't exactly someone you'd want to cross. Even to get to the other side.

"I want a word with you Robotnik!"," said the rooster. "Right now! Or else someone's gonna find out someone defecated in their coffee the next morning."

"A class act as ever," said Sleet.

"You shut up," said the Rooster.

"Oy." Eggman relinquished his grip on Snively as he plopped to the floor terrified, and with one hand now free, he used it to cradle his head to steady it for the oncoming headache. Having to deal with righteous upstarts did that to some people. "This will have to wait," he said to Snively. "But this is NOT over." Snively whimpered as he nodded in acknowledgment, and then scampered on back to his seat. Eggman proceeded to take a moment to gather himself like a man preparing to deal with hired help. As useful as they may have been, they could still be royal pains in the kiesters.

"Why, if it isn't Chirps! Mercenary extraordinaire! And conspicuously absent until just this moment."

"I was doing another job. Escort mission. Figured it best to get my backlog cleared before taking on a job this big."

"I suppose that's acceptable, or at least it would be if you didn't come barging in on your first day of work. Well, what's done is done. What seems to the problem?"

"What seems to be the problem? Everything! I thought this was going to be a simple hostile takeover. Take some locals hostage, threaten the king into submission, maybe rough things up a bit. Nothing too serious, you know? Just something to loosen them up a little. Like applying lube."

"Another mental image like that and you're fired."

"Hell, at this point, I almost wouldn't mind. Because next thing I know, not only do I find out the operation's already mostly done without me, but you know what else I find? Bodies on the street, houses burnt down to the ground, people running scared, the works, like how everyone reacts when I try to show them my family photos."

"You do realize that this WAS a coup, do you not?", said Sleet.

"We didn't have to go that far! They were practically in the Dark Ages, they couldn't do a thing! I've signed onto a lot of things, but I try my best never to sign up for anything that puts civilians in the line of fire. But I think I did just that."

"To be perfectly candid," said Eggman, "I"m amazed you lasted this long. Most hitmen don't last when they have such standards as you do."

"Yeah, but no-one's got the standards that I do, in more ways than one. And you know why."

"In a sense. But here's the deal. You signed on to help me subjugate the Acorn Kingdom any way you could."

"And I shouldn't have! Looking back, I know I shouldn't have. Part of me still thinks you slipped me some really wonky stuff in my brewskies."

"Maybe, but the fact is that you're still in my employee. You may still have your principles, but I'm willing to bet that said principles aren't as integral as you may think."

"And you can bet your arse they are. Guys like me, our principles are the only things that still keep us Mobian. So what this is is me looking at what I thought I knew I was signing up for without realizing I was really agreeing with everything I'm against. If this doesn't stop here, Robotnik, then I'm through."

"Is this about the bodies? Because if it is, I can tell you that they aren't going to be a problem much longer."

"And that just proves my point. You want a coup, that's fine. Heck, I love myself a good coupe. Or at least a chicken coupe. But this is far from a chicken coupe.""

Robotnik stared at Chirps like someone attending a comedy who didn't get the joke. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"That's the problem. You never do." Chirps then stormed off in a huff, it being clear that talking wasn't going to get either of them anywhere.

"Sleet," said Eggman, "keep an eye on him. He may well prove more trouble than he's worth."

"With pleasure," said Sleet. He pressed his ear to the door, listening to Chirp's footsteps and waiting until the very moment he turned the corner, and then walked through the doorway and crept after him in the shadows.

Eggman then turned his gaze towards Snively, almost like a bringer of death. "Now, where were we?"

Snively tugged his collar like he never tugged it before. He was starting to think that staying with his research job in the Federation might not have been such a bad idea…

* * *

"Sucks."

"What was that?", said Porker. Porker and Tekno had continued to sit in their cell for the last five minutes, twiddling their thumbs as they were unable to do much of anything else.

"Sucks that we're still stuck here," said Tekno. "Should escape. Should do something. We had a lockpick, I'd get us out of here easy."

"Well," we don't have one. And I don't think our new friends have one on them either."

"No, but you've got the next best thing." Without any warning, the walrus spoke, picking himself off the ground and rubbing his eyes as though he just had a short nap.

Porker jumped back towards his corner, yelling in fright as though he'd just seen a ghost. "Um, uh, w-well! Y-you're up! That was quick."

"I wasn't even out," said the walrus. "Name's Rotor by the way. Pleasure to meet the both of you. Now, let's say we get out of this hole?"

"Hold up a minute. If you weren't ever actually knocked out, then just what are you doing here?"

"It's like they said Here I was, showing up in town to see the festival and maybe see if I could join Robotnik's thinktank only to see that they'd leveled half the town by the time I got there. All it took was a quick look around to see why, but it wasn't long before the SWATbots were on my trail. Which as it so happened was a good thing."

"You can't be serious."

"Think about it. I let myself be captured and I get a chance to be taken to the heart of the whole operation, maybe even get a chance to help stop this before it gets worse."

"Your stake in this?", said Tekno.

Rotor was clearly a tad offput by Tekno's rather direct demeanor. "Uh, if you mean why I'm doing this, I guess it's because I can't stand anyone being made slaves or prisoners just because someone says so. Got kind of a history with that come to think of it."

"Well," said Porker, "I'd welcome any chance we could take to get out of here. What did you have in mind?"

"This." Rotor raised one mighty fist and pounded it into the ground. When he pulled it up, there was nothing underneath but a fist-shaped crater.

"Talk about a crater," said Tekno.

"Good Gaea!", said Porker. "No-one should be that strong! Or at least most people shouldn't."

"My tribe isn't 'most people', said Rotor. "In more ways than one. In any case, I'll get us out of these bars in a jiffy! Well, maybe. There's only one problem, which is—"

Tekno already had it figured it out. "Which is, how do we get out without alerting the guards or setting off the security systems?"

"Bingo. I'm no lockpicker, so it's not like I can get us out that way. The only thing I can think of is turning those bars into scrap. If I had my tools, I'd have more options, but they confiscated them when they brought me here. At this point, I don't know what else to do."

"I do."

Chirps came strolling around the corner like a boss, waltzing up to the cell like he owned the place. "Name's Chirps Been hearing you all might be in a jam. Always did love jam myself. Strawberry is divine."

"Who're you supposed to be?", said Porker.

"Like I said, I'm Chirps. Mercenary extraordinaire. Technically in Robotnik's employ. But I might not be much longer."

"Why's that," said Rotor. "And why should we care?"

"You should care because, oh, hold on a minute." He then redirected his attention to the SWATbots, still guarding the cell. "This is Chirps, Deputy Executive Officer. Code 651211. New orders. Couple of prisoners running around a good six corridors south carrying explosive monkeys. Hop to it." And sure enough, as the SWATbots marched off with their new forcibly given orders, they did indeed hop to it.

Chirps waited until the SWATbots were out of earshot. "I might be your only ticket out of this place. I've also got a ticket to the movies, but that's neither here nor there. What is, is this." He pulled out a small key from his pocket. "This is the key to your cell. You use this, you're out. No muss, no fuss. Like the gel I use on my comb."

"Don't know this is a trap," said Tekno.

"And you don't know if it isn't. Sides, we're both from the Armada. No use hiding it, I can tell. And birds of a feather should trust one another."

"The Armada?", asked Porker. "You haven't so much as mentioned anything about an Armada before, Tekno."

"Didn't want to bring it up," said Tekno. "Bad memories."

"Yeah, well," said Chirps, "that can wait. Do you wanna get out, or you do wanna be cooped up here forever? Assuming he doesn't just roboticize you all first."

Porker, Tekno, and Rotor all looked at one another as if their lives were on the line. On the one hand, they didn't know much if anything about this Chirps fellow. For all they knew, he might have been some recent creation of Eggman's, built to lull them into a false sense of security. For whatever reason. And yet, there was still the chance he was on the level. They couldn't pass this up.

"Do it," said Porker.

"You wish is my command. For the next minute or so anyway." Chirps fitted the key into the lock like a glove and swung the door wide open. "Right, come on out of there, hurry! And someone's gonna have to carry the stiff!"

Rotor lugged Marcus over his shoulder, and the lot of them started hurrying down the corridor as if running from the hounds of hell themselves.

"This way!" said Chirps. "I've done my homework, both literally and figuratively, and there should be a secret passage somewhere around the corner!"

"And your reason for wanting access to this secret passage would be…?"

A smug, slightly nasally voice had called out from the opposite corridor, stopping the group in its' track. Cooly leaning on a wall, it was none other than the one person Chirps hated more than Robotnik. Sleet. "Should've known. Like a tumor, he's there when you least expect it."

"I could say the same about you, but I suppose there won't be much of you to say anything about in the next fifteen minutes or so."

"Sleet, look around you. Being a mercenary is one thing, but being a terrorist is another, and yeah, that's what we are here. Unless you're on a terrific pay-grade, it just isn't worth it."

Sleet slowly started to grin like a madman. "Fortunate for me then. I got the higher cut."

"Of ribs? Sorry, couldn't resist. But look Sleet. You start this, and you'll be starting something that ain't gonna stop. You know what I can do. Do you really wanna go down this route?"

"I'm sorry, but did you say fried chicken was on the menu? I do believe you did."

"Right. Stand back, people. This is gonna get ugly. And dirty. Literally."


	12. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 12

Well then, I do believe it's time for some chicken ala-carte!"

Sleet lunged at Chirps, and all everyone else could do was try and run the other direction. Even Rotor for all his strength still knew he had to get the General to safety. However, in just a few seconds, he'd discover that there wouldn't be much need.

Chirps growled as if the Earth was tearing itself apart, his hands clenching and his eyes twitching as though he were having a conniption. And then it happened. In nearly the blink of an eye, a wall of solid earth came rising from the ground, tearing the metal floor above it as it did so and blocking Sleet off from Chirps and the rest. His head crashed into the wall as he fell face first on the metal flooring; incensed, but not surprised in the least. "Well played."

"Uh, "said Porker, "I hate to ask, but what in Gaea's good name did you just do?"

"What does it look like?" said Chirps. "Things got dirty. Literally. Anyway, we don't got much time. Sleet's got his own talents; cybernetics, and it's not gonna take him long to break through this. So what we need to do is find that secret passage. I did my homework, and it should be around here somewhere."

"Think it's over here," said Tekno.

"And how's that?"

"Because someone's coming through it."

Dropping whatever they were doing as though they had just heard the Oracles of Delphi were coming to town, they looked at the wall where Tekno was pointing. Sure enough, someone or something was trying to come through, as though a buzzsaw were slowly but surely cutting its' way right through a couple of layers of solid steel. And much to their surprise, it was just about…

"Done!" With one final buzz, Sonic was finally through the wall, and Sally, Antione, Sonia, and Manic followed suit. "No fancy metal wall is gonna stop me from getting through this thing!" They rushed straight through the hedgehog-sized hole that Sonic made, and for a moment, both groups could only stare at one another as they tried to puzzle out just what was going on. At last, the long awkward silence finally came to an end when Sally suddenly recognized two of the opposite number, and every single one of the others recognized her in turn.

"Porker Lewis, right? And Tekno?"

"Uh, a pleasure your highness," said Porker, "though we don't have that much time to waste. I think we've all got quite a lot of questions, but I also think it's all going to have to wait until every single one of us is out of here safe and sound. Speaking of which, what are you even doing here anyway?"

"We're trying to save Daddy," said Sally. "He's probably in here somewhere, and we're going to find him."

"My sentiments exactly. Name's Chirps, mercenary extraordinaire, and I want to find the King as much as you do. He owes me money."

"Come again?", said Sally, eyebrow raised.

"Sorry, probably ain't a good time. Anyhoo, you're right. We need to find the king, and there's still a couple of prisoners locked up here from what I can gather. We don't get to them soon, they're gonna suffer some pretty nasty fates."

"Yeah, well," said Sonic, "just tell us who they are so we can get this show on the road!"

"Sorry about Sonic," said Sally. "He can be a bit, shall we say, insufferable."

"I bet," said Chirps. "Anyway, I looked up the records as soon I got here. Their names are Shorty and Bunnie, and—"

"Hold on a minute. Bunnie? As in Bunnie Rabbot?"

"Yeah, that's the name. Why, she mean something to you?"

Sally's eyes widened in horror, as though her best friend had just been sentenced to the gallows. "We need to get moving. Chirps, Sonic, Antione, you're with me. Everyone else, into the passage."

"Hold on a moment Princess," said Antione, "please. No offense." He noticed his father being carried over Rotor's shoulder like a throw rug. "Father?!", he yelled. "Father, are you alright?! Can you hear me?!"

"He's alright," said Rotor, "don't worry. He's just unconscious. Give him a day and he'll be right as rain."

"Are you sure?", said Antione.

"Antione," said Sally, "I'm so sorry. If you want, you can go with the others. I'm sure we could make do."

Antione hesitated for a moment. Now that he had the chance, he briefly considered scampering off to the passage like a right bloody git, but just as quickly pushed such considerations to the back of his noggin, even though his hands were shaking and his teeth chattering and his legs knocking as he did so. "Non. I love my father, but my place is here. I cannot leave you unprotected, or let the King be kept hostage, or let two innocent people suffer. Even if I have a heart attack in the process." He then turned to Rotor. "Please, look after my father for me."

"Well," said Rotor, "I'd love to, believe me, but I really think I'd be more help here." He then used his free hand to punch a hole straight into the nearest wall, leaving another fist-sized crater in its' wake. "You see what I mean?"

Antione then stared blankly at Rotor for a moment before quickly turning to Sonia. "Please, look after my father for me."

"No problem," said Sonia. "Just one thing. Sally, if you find out anything about MY Dad…"

"Don't worry. I'll be sure to let you know."

"Thanks."

Just then, they could all hear several loud crunches and crashes from the other side of the wall of earth and rock, and small cracks started to spread over it in ever larger numbers and frequency.

"He's starting to break through," said Chirps, "and if I know him, he's already sent for a squadron of SWATbots and Troopers to come after us. Whatever we do, we've gotta be quick."

"Right," said Sally. "Sonic, Antione, Chirps, uh, pink Walrus…"

"Rotor."

"Rotor. You're all with me. Everyone else, into the passage, ASAP!"

"Right," said Manic. He ushered Porker and Tekno into the passage. Once they were both through, he called Sonia over to Marcus and the two of them began to lift him up and bring him over. In short order, everyone except for Sally, Sonic, Antione, Chirps, and Rotor had made a hasty retreat.

"Right," said Chirps. "Time for some extra insurance. Not that I've ever paid for my insurance, but still." His eye twitched once more and two more walls of earth sprung up from below; one smaller one the size of a doorway over the secret passage, and another right behind them. "There we go. That should give us some time, time enough for love and I'll just stop myself right there if you don't mind."

"I'd ask how you could even possibly do what you just did," said Sally, "but we don't have the time. Right. Chances are, we'll have to fight our way through, but our priorities are saving Daddy and the prisoners, understood?"

"Yeah yeah," said Sonic, "save the King and the hostages and then kick Eggman's arse. Piece of cake!"

Sally hoped that it would be, but nothing was ever guaranteed. And as the blows became harder and harder, and the cracks grew ever larger, all she could hope was that Daddy and Bunnie were safe.

* * *

"Sir, I don't think this is a very good idea."

Snively was busy being held above the toilet by his ankles in the Control Room's (otherwise known as the Command Center's,) bathroom stall by Doctor Eggman, who apparently had a habit of keeping his promises. "Shut up Snively," he said. "Toilet brushes don't speak. Or breath for that matter."

"Sir, if you don't mind me saying so, the smell is so rank it's starting to make me noxious."

"Well, that should give you even more for that nose of yours to clean, won't it? Down the hatch Snively!" Just then, as if someone from on high had answered Snively's prayers, a loud shrill beeping could be heard from both of Eggman and Snively's wrist-watches. Apparently, there was something else other than Snively about to go down the shitter.

"Sir, don't you think this can wait a moment? If you please."

Eggman groaned like a petulant child teed off that he wasn't going to have his fun. "Oh, very well. Besides, depending on how things go, I might need someone to mind the store. You're off the hook Snively. But if you screw the pooch again, I may just decide I need your special touch after all." He lifted Snively away from the toilet and hurled him over to his chair in the monitor room, whereupon he crashed headfirst into the backseat.

"Thank you, sir," he said, barely able to retain his consciousness yet still somehow managing to stay standing by some act of Gaea.

"Right then," said Eggman. He pressed a button on his receiver as Snively did the same, as Sleet's voice resounded throughout the room.

"This is Sleet calling Doctor Eggman, calling Doctor Eggman, over!"

"Yes," said Eggman, "what seems to be the trouble?"

"Your hunch about Chirps was correct. The very first thing he did was free the prisoners, and now there's a solid wall of earth between them and us. I believe I can break through it, but having some additional assistance would not hurt. If most of my men were not assisting Axel in making preparations for the operation over in Green Hill, I would call them in myself, but you know how things are…"

"Very well. They'll be there. In the meantime, stop talking and start getting to work! The walrus is inconsequential, but the other three are too valuable to let get away! I'll be sending in a team of SWATbots AND troopers at both ends. That should be enough to handle him. Powerful as Chirps is, he's not omnipotent."

"Quite right. Still, one must not count their chickens before they have hatched. Or their roosters before they crow. If anything else occurs, I shall let you know at once."

"See that you do. Eggman out." He then pushed a few buttons on his watch before pressing the center. "I suppose I'd better see how Grimer's doing. Grimer? Grimer, are you there?"

"Ah," said Grimer on the other end, "greeting and salutations sir. I trust everything is going swimmingly?"

"Far from it. That's what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Things are taking a turn for the worse, are they?", said Grimer. "Well, everything is still rather well on our end. Do you want us to stop the procedure or—"

"No. For now, continue the procedure as planned. We've come this far. I do NOT intend to stop now. Not to mention, if we manage to finish them in time, we could add two powerful units to our forces. However, don't take any more risks than you need to. Understood?"

"Of course. Though I suppose I'd better start it sooner than later. Will that be all?"

"Affirmative. Though if there is, I'll let you know."

"Splendid! Well, if that's everything, then I suppose all I can say is Grimer out! Oh, and do you think you could send some extra SWATbots over our way? Just in case."

"Done and done," said Eggman.

"Much obliged," said Grimer. "Grimer out."

"Right, Snively," said Eggman. "Let's take a look at the monitor here and see just how our little friend Chirps is doing, shall we?"

"Of course sir," said Snively, still a bit shaken from his ordeal, but not yet stirred. He turned his attention to the hallway where the Prisoners had been kept and enlarged that particular portion of the screen. And one look was all it took for Eggman to spit out like a water gun the contents of that bottle of cola he had just opened up.

"Sir?", said Snively, though he already could tell just what was up.

"I know. I knew there was a secret passage. I just didn't expect those rodents to know about it."

"Your orders sir?"

"I already ordered a squadron of Swatbots and Troopers to flank the lot of them. No, this is going to require something special. A couple of somethings, come to think of it. Snively, is the forcefield dome ready for activation?"

"Yes sir, at your command."

"And, ahem, you-know-what?"

"That is also ready," said Snively.

"Egg-cellent. Snively, you get that force field ready. In the meantime, have Dingo escort the King over to the Experimental Wing. I had so hoped to use him as my precious little pawn, but now with the heir apparent on our doorstep, I can't afford to take any chances."

"If I may beg your pardon sir, why don't you just get rid of him and let that be that?"

Eggman suddenly grinned like a ravenous tiger eager for the kill. "And where would be the fun in that?" He then hurried to the door, eager for his chance to go in for the coup de grace.

* * *

"Right then," said Grimer, back at the controls for the roboticizer and Shorty's portal. "Let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

"Buddy," said Shorty, "you even so much as touch those controls and you'll find two large buck teeth shoved up your heiny toot sweet."

"I appreciate the sentiment," said Grimer, "but I"m afraid there's not much you can do. That either of you can do really. So without further ado…"

With one press of his finger, Grimer activated the controls and set things in motion. As if called, the roboticizer suddenly began whirring to life as a light at the top of the tube lit up like a fireworks display. At the same time, a compartment in one of the walls opened up and out came several pieces of Cybernik armor, hurtling towards Shorty before stopping at a hair's breath and circling him like a whirlwind. In short, things were not looking good.

"YOU DON'T GET ME OFF THIS MERRY-GO-ROUND RIGHT NOW BUDDY," yelled Shorty, "YOUR ASS IS GRASS! LITERALLY! BELIEVE ME, I'LL FIND A WAY!"

"GET ME THE HELL OUT HERE!", yelled Bunnie. "YOU AIN'T TURNING ME INTO SOME SORT OF ROBOT! YOU AIN'T, YOU HEAR ME?! YOU AIN'T! YOU—"

All sounds of protest suddenly ceased as Bunnie caught a glimpse of her hand. It wasn't much, and if it weren't for her keen eyes it might not have even been noticeable, but it was there. Several very tiny splotches of metal began to form on her arm; metal splotches where thick orange fur should have been. She didn't want to believe it, and part of her couldn't, but there she had it. This was real, this was happening, and if she didn't do something soon, she'd be spending the rest of her life, hell, maybe the rest of existence as robotic slave labor.

It was too horrifying to think about. Instead, she kept banging on the tube, trying in vain to break through, to stop the process before she became a robot altogether. "GOLDARRNIT, LET ME OUT OF HERE WHY DONCHA?! LET ME OUT!" As she banged on the glass, more and more of her slowly but surely began to be transformed, leaving every metal spot on her body a numb patch of misery. "PLEASE," she cried, "SOMEBODY! FOR THE LOVE GAEA, SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

* * *

"Alright," said Chirps, "get ready people. It's showtime!"

Chirps, Rotor, Sonic, and Antione with a fine machete he had borrowed from Manic were all ready to face the oncoming storm. More and more, the earth and stone were continuing to crack and break like an old weathered statue, and in just a few moments, as if to represent the futilely of immortality, it was…

"Brace yourselves!"

…gone. The wall of earth shattered to pieces like a candy bar, and in its' place was none other than Sleet and a horde of SWATbots and Troopers. Antoine was shivering like a ninny.

"At last," said Sleet. "I admit, this has been fun Chirps, if just a tad annoying. But it ends now. Men, take the Princess and the walrus in for questioning, will you? The boss has a number of things to ask these two. As for the others, dispose of them."

"Sonic!", said Sally, letting him know it was time to start juicing.

"Alright!", said Sonic. "Let's do it to it!"

Before anyone else could so much as blink, Sonic hit the ground running. He was dizzying around swat bots left and right, running up the walls and across the ceiling evading shot after shot and making a general embarrassment of all robots everywhere. "So," said Sleet, "this is the little rodent that Robotnik has been warning me about, hm? Most amusing."

As everyone else seemed to be preoccupied with the hyperactive blue hedgehog making a spectacle of himself, the others saw their chance. With one silent look of acknowledgment, Rotor charged towards the nearest Trooper and promptly tore his head off, while Chirps summoned up three stone spikes to tear through the floor as they impaled three more. Antione dodged the Trooper's bullets like a pro. He ducked and rolled, leaped and hid, and all that and more before he reached the heart of them. And as soon as he did so, he stabbed the most powerful of them right in the processor. He all too briefly started to collapse into a nervous heap, but this didn't last long. He kept an eye on Sally to make sure she was alright, but as she lay flat against the wall, she winked at him, giving him the go-ahead to keep on trucking. There was still work to do.

Sonic himself had one more trick up his sleeve. Racing up the wall, he bounced off it at just the just right angle and, in an act of inspiration, curled himself up into a ball and tore through a SWATbot's center like a buzzsaw. It crumpled to the ground in an instant. "Wow, now THAT was something else. You learn something new every day!" As for the robots, they tried to fire at their targets all the while, but with all of the chaos going on around them and all of the super-powered freaks they suddenly had to deal with, it was easier said than done.

Sleet was starting to get livid. "What are you all just standing around here for? Shoot them!" The element of surprise no longer a factor, the remaining bots took this to heart and began making a renewed effort to take every last do-gooder down. Meanwhile, cracks began to form in the wall from behind, with blasts of laser rifles coming from the same general direction. However, Sally still had something she needed to do.

"SONIC!", yelled Sally. Like a genie from a bottle, Sonic was there.

"What's up? Case you didn't know, I've got some more bots to trash."

"And in case YOU didn't know, we still need to rescue my father and Bunnie, and then run like our lives depended on it."

"And beat up Eggman, don't forget about that."

"Look, Chirps already told me where to go, so I need you to take me there. I don't know if I can get there in time on my own."

"Alright, alright, keep your vest on. King and Bunnie first, THAN Eggman. Fine by me."

"Whatever," said Sally, "just get us there! Please."

"No worries Princess. Just tell me where to go on the way over and we'll be there in no time!" Sonic was just about to grab Sally's arm when, panting like a madman, in came Antione, a light flesh wound on his chest but otherwise none the worse for wear.

"Non!", he said like a man possessed. "You take her, you also take me! I cannot leave Princess Sally in danger! I would be breaking the 47th rule of the sword!"

"Alright already!", said Sonic, starting to wonder if he should have just gone and beaten Eggman himself. "Everybody, hang tight!" Before Sally had so much as a chance to protest, he seized Sally and Antione's hands, darting past the lasers and the bullets and the SWATbots and the Troopers and even Sleet, and they were off. Sleet considered doing his best to follow, but one look ahead of him and he knew he had other fish to fry. Or chicken in this case.

"Just me and you Sleet,"said Chirps.

"Oh really now? What about the walrus?"

"The Walrus is standing in front of the wall of Earth in the back, ready and waiting to tear apart the trash like tissues." And indeed he was. "Any questions? Other than why the chicken tried to cross the road."

"Just one. 'What does raw Mobian chicken taste like'? And I believe I'm about to find out." And with another mighty lunge from Sleet, it was on.


	13. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 13

"Oh, my fur and whiskers, MAKE IT STOP!"

Bunnie was beginning to wonder if this would be it. She had tried her best to call for help, to try and pound on the glass with all her might but it was no good. As she began to slump to the floor against the glass casing, her right arm and both of her legs had just about nearly transformed into solid metal, complete with all of the parts necessary to make them work. She couldn't even feel her limbs as they transformed. Instead, they simply stopped. Stopped giving any and all sensations of warmth, of cold or feeling, of even pain. As if they were stealing something precious and vital from her piece by piece, and that all they left her with was an empty void where it used to be. And as the machine continued to whir and hum, she wondered how long it would be before she wouldn't feel anything at all.

Shorty meanwhile had a different problem. The pieces of metal continued to whir around him, becoming ever faster and faster like some sort of metal hurricane, and all could Shorty could do was watch no matter how much he struggled and groaned and yelled his head off. "OH, FOR THE LOVE OF I DON'T CARE WHO, JUST STOP!"

And stop they did. Almost as if on Shorty's command, even if this wasn't the case, the pieces of metal stopped utterly in mid-air, as if they were held in place by some invisible hand. "Uh, well, huh. Is it over?"

He had spoken too soon. The pieces of metal shot out at him, latching onto certain parts of his body and closing themselves tight like a container. "HEY, CUT IT OUT! QUIT IT! GET THE HELL OF ME YOU SONS OF WHATEVER'S! DID YOU HEAR ME?! GET THE HELL OFF!"

But they couldn't hear him. As such, there was no stopping it, and no matter how much Shorty struggled, there was nothing he could to stave off the inevitable. All that was left now was the head, and it looked at Shorty's eyes as though it were staring into his very soul. And as if it had a soul of its' own, one could swear that it didn't like what it saw. "What are you looking at me like that for? Stop looking at me. Stop it. STOP IT!"

It stopped it alright. It stopped it as soon as it opened itself up and bulleted itself towards Shorty's head, clamping itself around his noggin. As Shorty howled in terror, all Grimer could do was smile like a man satisfied that everything was going exactly according to plan. Yellow lights then began to shine out from the white eye-filters of Shorty's suit, and the whole thing suddenly started to to shake and vibrate as Shorty began to yelp they were burning him to death

"WHAT IN TARNATION ARE YOU DOING TO HIM?!", shouted Bunnie.

"Oh, it's quite simple,' said Grimer. "The suit is beginning to assert its' own will and dominance, courtesy of our patented AI systems. Before long, 'Shorty' will become nothing but a memory, his own personality submerged beneath that of the Cybernik's. Pity that."

"Pity? PITY?!", cried Bunnie. "YOU LET ME OUT OF HERE AND I'LL SHOW YOU PITY! YOU WANT IT, YOU GOT IT!"

"I'm afraid not, dear, Besides, you're still about halfway through your own process. It still has a few kinks to work out, as you've no doubt noticed. Otherwise, the roboticization would have been finished by now. I'd suggest you enjoy your last few minutes of freedom before finding yourself suffering the same fate. If you can even call it that."

"What do you mean?!", snarled Bunny.

"Well, think about it, you can't exactly suffer if you don't even know you're suffering, can you? It might even be a release of sorts. It all depends on how you look at everything when you get down to it."

"YOU SON OF A—"

"Ah-ah! Temper, temper! After all, you only have so many moments of individuality left. Why don't you make them count?"

"WHY DON'T YOU COUNT HOW MANY FINGERS YOU HAVE LEFT WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU?!" She started banging on the glass with her robotic hand, not caring whether or not breaking free was even a possibility. She wanted his arse on a stick, and she wanted it now.

"Oh, do calm yourself, won't you? Besides, it's not as though anyone is coming to save you. And if there is, they've no doubt been detained by our loyal squadrons of SWATbots and Troopers. Face the facts. As of this moment, there's absolutely no-one willing or able to come to your rescue."

"Eh, I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Sonic.

"Hm?" Before Grimer could figure out just who had spoken and where the voice had come from, he found himself blown straight into the mainframe computer by one swift kick to the stomach. He struggled to get up, wondering just who on Gaea's green Earth had sidewinded him like a boss. He clutched his chest as he struggled to regain his bearings, only barely managing to get a glimpse of the man or in this case hedgehog who had seen fit to knock the wind out of his sails. And one good look was all it took to know just who it was. "You. That blue hedgehog. You…"

"Ah, save your breath," said Sonic. "Sides, my friend's here got some questions to ask you. After she's done checking on her friend of course."

As Grimer began to think of a way to call up Eggman or security without letting Sonic know, Sally, having been hiding in the corner with Antione up until now, had raced over to the glass container, hoping beyond hope that it wasn't true. And yet, as she got closer and her eyes widened as harsh reality came crashing in, she knew just who it was.

"BUNNIE!", she yelled.

"My stars, SALLY!", cried Bunnie. "Thank Gaea! I don't know what you're doing here, but right now I couldn't give a hoot!"

Sally quickly looked Bunnie over. It was worse than she feared. Her right arms and her legs had nearly finished roboticizing, and if something wasn't done, the rest would soon follow. She briefly clasped her hands over her mouth, in shock and terror at such a travesty. "Oh Bunnie, what have they done to you?"

"I know Sally," said Bunnie, who for a moment seemed almost ready to just collapse into a sobbing heap. "I know. But it's what they're gonna do to me that's the problem! I've tried, but even with these hunks of metal, I can't get out! It's too strong. You gotta' do something to save me! And him too!" She pointed to Shortfuse, still writhing in mid-air like a hanged man trying in desperation to free himself from his fate.

"Good Gaea! There's someone in there?!"

"Yeah, and if you don't do something now, we're both hogtied!"

Meanwhile, Antione had been looking at Bunnie nearly the entire time since he entered the lab as if in a daze. One look at her was all it took for him to know that his life was never going to be the same, as though all one needed was one look at an unscratched ticket to know one won the lottery. He knew he would do anything for her, anything to save her. And he knew only one way how. "Stand back monamies!" He lunged at the tube and began whacking away at it with his machete, valiantly attempting to hack to smithereens! Bunnie watched in amazement, in awe that someone she had never even met would go to such lengths to save her. It was an exercise in futility to be sure, but at least he still tried. And that meant more to her than anything.

"Wow," said Sonic. "I'll give the scaredy-cat this much; he's sure as heck determined if nothing else."

Still, one must know when to fold them. After Antione's arm began to give way, he found he had no choice but to break off his attack, even though it was the last thing he wanted to do. "Easy Antione," said Sally. "It was a nice try, but it's just not going to work."

"I know Sally," said Antione, "I know. But I also know another way." He then rushed over to Grimer and, in a complete betrayal of his usual cowardice, pointed his sword straight at him without the slightest trace of fear. "How must I turn off this infernal machine? Tell me now or you will live to regret it!

"Wouldn't you like to know?" said Grimer.

"Let me rephrase that." Antioned pushed the blade closer, the tip just barely edging against Grimer's slimy neck. "Tell me now, and I will not thrust my blade down your throat!

"Small switch on the up-most right corner of the keypad!" said Grimer, as outwardly cheery as the day he met Robotnik. "Can't miss it!"

"Sally?", said Antione, gesturing for her to operate the keypad while he kept Grimer at bay.

"Got it!" Sally pressed the button Grimer had mentioned, hoping it would be enough. As it turned out, it wouldn't be so easy. A password encryption program sprung up on the screen, asking for proper identification before it could do what it was ordered to do.

"What is the password?", said Antione. "Tell me if you do not wish to taste my machete!"

"And just why would I do that? The process will be finished any minute now, and Doctor Eggman shall have two perfectly unwilling slaves to do his bidding, enough to subdue you so that we can do to you what has been done to them. I have all the cards, and I don't intend to give them up."

"Fine!", said Antione. He then threw his machete at the computer, blade first, with such force that it was almost like a bullet, enough to cause it to ram itself straight into its' central hardware.

In short order, every other single piece of electronic equipment in the lab went dead, including the Roboticzer and the Cybernik suit. Bunnie had just put her hands on her head, feeling the pangs of one last burst of complete and total roboticization, and as the machine shut down and the glass tube retracted, she breathed a sigh of relief. Meanwhile, Shorty went limp, the platform below him losing all of its' color and shutting down as he crashed to the floor. Bunnie didn't have much time to bemoan her own situation before Shorty's took precedence. "Good Gaea sugar! You okay?!"

For the moment, however, all Sally knew was that her best friend was safe. If the worse for wear. She raced up to her and gave her one big hug, to which Bunnie, who at that moment was more focused on Shorty then anything else, could do nothing but be taken aback. "Oh, Bunnie! Thank Gaea! I'm so glad you're safe!"

Antione raced up to Bunnie in short order. "You are safe, mademoiselle?"

"Yeah," said Bunnie, "and it's all thanks to you two! But enough about me." She then turned back to Shorty, who was currently lying on the floor motionless like one big hunk of metal.

"Shorty!" She broke free of Sally's grasp and tried to rush over to him. The key word being 'try.' The fact of the matter was that three out of four of her limbs were now somewhat heavy metal lifeless appendages, which for the moment made moving around them more trouble than it was worth. Sort of like an amputee trying to run about on their brand new prosthetic leg. She fumbled about trying to keep her balance, but it was clear that this was going to take some work.

Sally hopped over to Bunnie and held her up, knowing that she'd need all the help she could get. "Easy there Bunnie, easy girl. Good Gaea are you heavy! Sonic, a little help here?"

"On it! Now", said Sonic to Grimer, "don't you go anywhere. Capiche?"

"Oh, I don't have to. You see, someone's going to notice that the Roboticizer and the Cybernik process along with the Central Lab's Central Computer have for no discernible reason stopped functioning. And they are going to send someone over to check up on things. Or rather in this case, a pack of SWATbots and Troopers most likely. Nevermind that I'd already requested for a squad of them to march straight over here in any case. You don't particularly think things through, do you?"

"Oh crap," said Sonic. He then raced over to Sally and Bunnie, holding her up and getting her standing again as quickly as he could before giving them the lowdown. "Mondo bad news. Slimy over just said there's a bunch of SWATbots and Troopers coming this way. I can probably take them," he said, full of himself as usual, "but it still ain't good."

"And we still need to find Daddy. But we can't stay here forever." Sally wracked her brains for a moment trying to come up with a solution before racing over to Grimer and grabbing him by the collar. "If there's a way to tell Eggman or whoever's in charge to call them off, do it. NOW."

"Even if I could, it wouldn't work. Both Eggman and Snively are shrewd. They'll suspect something is up. If anything, they'll send in even more troops than if I had simply said nothing. The real question is, what are you going to do?"

Just then, with one loud groan, Shorty finally awoke from his slumber, slowly getting up like he had the world's worst hangover. "SHORTY!", said Bunnie. "You okay?!" Shorty didn't answer. Instead, he merely looked at his hands. Or rather, at the metal gauntlets covering his hands. He looked down at the platform below him, its hard glass surface reflecting off of him now that the color had been drained. And he balked at what he saw. He was covered entirely by the Cybernik suit from head to toe, with not a single bit of flesh or Squirrel hair peeking out. He tried like a madman to wrench off the helmet or the gauntlets or anything, but it was no good. Nothing was coming off. He managed to keep his noggin intact, but he had lost everything else in the process. He was stuck, in more ways than one.

His legs gave way as he kneeled down on the floor like a rag doll. He again looked at the palms of his hands. He clenched them tight as though he were clenching a human heart, and threw his head back as he let out a shout like a man who had lost everything. And in Shorty's case, he may very well have.

"Shorty!', said Bunnie. "Please, I know it's tough, but you gotta calm down! This ain't gonna help anyone! You gotta—"

"WHERE IS HE?!" Shortie was bellowing like a Mobian possessed, his eye sockets now black with large red dots in the middle. There was no mercy in those eyes; no compassion or a sliver of forgiveness. Just pure unrelenting rage. And the worst part was, when Bunnie looked into those eyes, she couldn't help but understand perfectly what Shorty felt, and wondered why she didn't just give in. And at that moment, she didn't have an answer.

Shorty's eyes darted around the room until it stopped at Grimer, the man responsible for his torment. Letting out a growl like a wild beast, he rocketed toward him as jetfire blew out of his metal footwear, as though he instinctively knew how to use it. Grimer cowered in fear as he jetted ever closer, and the only thing stopping him was none other than Bunnie. She hopped in front of Grimer and, after regaining her balance, held out her arms like a gate. "SHORTY, STOP!"

And stop he did. He brought himself to a sudden halt, though it wasn't something he was particularly happy about. "OUT OF THE WAY!", he roared. "HE DID THIS TO ME! I'M STUCK IN THIS SUIT, I CAN'T FEEL A DAMN THING BUT THE SUIT, AND IT'S ALL HIS FAULT! I'M A FREAK! EVERYTHING'S BEEN TAKEN FROM ME! HE NEEDS TO DIE!"

Bunnie promptly gave him one good firm slap with her metal hand. It was the only thing that stood so much of a chance of even getting through to him, but as she saw Shortie stunned and smarting, she figured it had done the trick. "You think I'm not as pissed off as you are? Do you think a part of me doesn't just want to put my foot over his slimy green skull and make him pay for what he did to me? Because I do! LOOK AT ME!" She held out her arm for all to see, the lights above glinting off of its' metal surface. Even Sonic couldn't help but be taken aback.

"You think you're the only one who's got it rough?! At least when people look at you, they'll just think you're wearing some sort of fancy suit and that that's all there is, but me?! I can't even feel my arm or my legs anymore! THEY DID THIS TO ME! And everyone can see! I ain't ever gonna be the same again!"

"Oh, Bunnie…" Tears were starting to fall from Bunnie's eyes, and Sally's own sockets were starting to mist up herself. Antione tried to reach out to Bunnie, but Bunnie simply held out one metal hand as if to tell him, 'Thanks, but not now.' Or else she might have never said what she wanted to say.

"But if we kill him, if we just murder him in cold blood, we'll be no better than he is. We'll be everything they wanted us to be. We do this, and they win. And I don't think that's what you want. Is it?"

Shorty stared at Bunnie for what was quite possibly the longest five seconds ever recorded in Mobian history. He then turned to Grimer, shaking in his boots knowing very well that his life was in Shorty's hands. He glared at him, his eyes staring squarely at Grimer's own, his hand outstretched and ready to kill. And then… nothing. He clenched his fist and turned away, as though it was the hardest thing he had ever done.

"Everything's been taken from me," he said. "Just bein' me, just bein' myself, that was the only thing I had left. And now that's gone too."

"No it's not," said Bunnie. "Underneath that hunk of metal, you're still you. Which is something I think the both of us are going to have to keep telling yourselves."

The two of them stood there for what seemed like an age, the silence only broken by one near silent mutter from Shorty's mouth. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it

Sonic looked at his wrist as though he were checking the time. "Yeah, well, this has been great and all, but we've still got a bunch of bots coming this way and— hey, does anyone hear any clanking?"

Sally slipped Nicole out of her satchel. "Nicole, can you see if there's anything even remotely robotic coming our way?"

"YES SALLY," said Nicole, "I DO BELIEVE I CAN DO JUST THAT. HOLD ON A MOMENT…" And so they did. "AFFIRMATIVE. SEVERAL BEINGS WITH LOW FUNCTIONING AI SYSTEMS COMING THIS WAY. IF I WERE TO GUESS, AND I NEVER GUESS, I WOULD SAY THEY ARE MOST LIKELY SWATBOTS AND TROOPERS. IT IS QUITE POSSIBLE THAT GETTING OUT OF THIS LOCATION WOULD BE A VERY, VERY GOOD IDEA."

Sally then grabbed Grimer by the collar. "Alright, we need to get out of here and we need to get out of here ASAP, but we aren't leaving without my Dad! Where is he?!"

Grimer, not wanting to mess with the two rather pissed off failed test subjects looming right over him, wasted no time in spilling his guts. "If I were to guess, he's probably being taken to the Extra-Experimental Wing. Two corridors down, first room on the left. Can't miss it!"

"Great!" said Sonic. "Oh yeah, one more thing. My cousin's looking for her dad, Draco Coriloni. You wouldn't happen to have him locked up or anything, would you?"

Grimer slowly looked towards Sonic and, in the midst of an otherwise potentially life-threatening situation, smiled as though he'd just heard the joke of a lifetime. "Draco Coriloni? That old devil? He's been in our pocket since the beginning."

"Excuse me?"

"How do you think we were able to finance all this? The King merely gave us a foot in the door and some spare finances. It was Draco who gave us the means to create all you see before you."

Sonic, Sally, and Antione couldn't believe their ears. "But why?", said Sally.

"Why else? A piece of the pie."

Well, Sonia had gotten what she wanted, though none of them were sure if they had the heart to tell her. Regardless, they were still on the clock. Sally dropped Grimer straight on his arse before getting to business. "Nicole, can you locate the Experimental Wing on the map?"

"AFFIRMATIVE," said Nicole.

"Alright. Sonic, we need to get my Dad."

"No problem! We'll get him out of there before you can say chili dog!"

"Uh-huh." Sally then turned to the others. "Bunnie, Shorty, I'm sorry for what's happened to the both of you, but we need to get out of here. There's a passage in the other direction that should lead to a way out. Chirps should be there. Rooster, black leather, you can't miss him. He should be able to get you where you need to go. Now—"

Just then, the sounds of metal footsteps began to get louder and louder, the squad of SWATbots and Troopers getting ever closer and closer.

"Forget it," said Shorty. "Those bots will be here any minute. You need cover. I can give it. And I want some payback."

"Shorty," said Bunnie, "are you sure you want to do this?"

"It's not Shorty anymore. Not like this anyway. Call me Shortfuse. Anyway, do you need to ask?"

"Are you sure you can even do it?", said Sally. "That suit just got grafted to you minutes ago, and I'm pretty sure you haven't even gotten a chance to test it yet."

"Don't even start," said Shortfuse. "Besides, whatever that creep did to me gave me the know-how to use everything I've got, and even without it, I know how to bust a few skulls."

Just then, something suddenly clicked in Sonic's brain like a light switch. "Hey! I recognize that voice! You're that squirrel that tried to mug me!"

"My stars," said Bunnie, "are you serious?!"

"And what's it to you?!", said Shortfuse.

"Look," said Sally, "I hate to say it, but this will have to wait. Shortfuse, if you can hold them off…"

"I can do more than hold them off. You're lookin' at a whole army in here."

"Alright. Bunnie, you go on back over to Chirps. Do you think you can get over there on your own?"

"Well, I still can't walk too well, but I can hop over there like a jackrabbit if it comes to it."

"Right," said Sally, who knew Bunnie was more out of it than she was letting on. "Antione, do you think you could watch over her?"

"Me, Sally?"

"Yes. Someone needs to watch over Bunnie, and," Sally said with complete sincerity, "I can't think of anyone better for the job."

Antione was ecstatic. "Well, if you believe you will be safe Princess…"

"Hey, don't worry Ant'!", said Sonic. "Long as she's got me, Sal's here got nothing to worry about!"

"I believe she has more to worry about from you than anything else."

"What was that?"

"Another time people!", said Sally. "Antione, can you do it?"

"Of course Sally!" He walked over to Bunnie and, with a bit of a jitter, gave her a bow. "Uh, if the Madesmiolle will, ahem, let me take this dance…?"

"Well, aren't you a gentleman!", said Bunnie. "I'd be delighted, sugar!" Antione then placed his arm under hers, and he did his best to help her hobble over to the southern corridor.

Just then, the sound of metal boot steps reached its' peak as the SWATbots and Troopers made their grand entrance. "Oh thank Gaea!", said Grimer. "Help! Over here! Over here!"

"Oh, put a sock in it!" said Shortfuse, giving Grimer a love tap to the head and knocking him out most profusely. "Don't worry, he ain't dead. Even though I wish he was. Right. You all get out of here! I don't want anyone else getting in my way!"

"Right!" said Sally. "Antione?"

"I am on it, Sally! Come on Mademoiselle!" He and Bunnie began running over to the corridor as fast as they could, desperate to get out of the lab before the action started.

"Good luck," said Sally. "Sonic?"

"You don't need to tell me twice!" And like a blur, they were off.

"Right. Well then punks, let's see what you've got! Because I can tell you now, it ain't gonna be enough!" His jet boots at the ready, Shortfuse blasted forward, ready to give the SWATbots and Troopers a thrashing they would never forget.


	14. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 14

"Robotnik, what is the meaning of this?!"

King Acorn had found himself stuck in the middle of Dingo's person after he'd transformed himself into an organic car and strapped him into the back seat, which lasted until the two arrived at a rather small room in a wing entitled 'The Extra-Experimental Complex' in large bold letters. Dingo transformed himself back to normal and chucked the King into the room as though chucking a piece of luggage. "This is an outrage!", yelled the king. "I'll say again, what is the meaning of this?!"

"The meaning, your highness, will soon be all too clear," said Eggman, standing right in the center of the room. "Do you see two posts right there in the middle of the room?

Sitting in the middle of an otherwise seemingly blank room were two red, yellow, and blue posts with blue spheres at the top that were each engraved with the image of a star, which by themselves didn't seem to be anything special.

"Yes?", asked the King. "What about them?"

"Tell me something. "Do you remember Ixus Naugus? Powerful sorcerer of incredible magnitude and royally appointed Warlock to the Royal Family?"

"Yes. Yes I do."

"And do you also remember how he simply took off one day without a trace?"

"Yes. Naugus was a tad rough around the edges and was one you always had to keep an eye on, but at the very least, he never made any brazen power plays for the throne. Unlike some people."

Eggman smiled like a man taking a small satisfaction in keeping the truth to himself. "Well, either way, and it IS Eggman by the way, the truth is a tad more complicated. For one reason or another, I saw Ixus as a genuine threat to my bid for power. And as it just so happened, I had the perfect device for the job."

He switched on a small console. Suddenly, the two goalposts sprang to life, whirring and humming like an amusement park, and above them, a swirling blue and purple portal surrounded by whirling bright white lights sprang up right over them as if from the ether, straight in the middle of the room.

"GOOD GAEA!", shouted the King. "What in the name of the Sword of Acorns is that?!"

"That is what is referred to in your kingdom's ancient texts and legends as the Void, where the vilest and most despicable spirits are said to reside. However, I have another name for it: The Special Zone. I discovered it early in my career purely by chance, but I supposed keeping a convenient portal to it around just might be useful. And it has been. In any event, the Void or at least part of it is in truth only a small section of the Zone, which is infinite in its' capacity and wonder. And it's also the perfect method to deal with unwanted waste."

As though someone had flicked on a lightswitch, the gears in the King's noggin quickly started turning until before long, they put two and two together. "You can't mean…"

"Oh, I believe I do. That's where you're going."

"But why?!", the King shouted. "Weren't you going to going to give me a chance?! Not that I would have taken it, but still?! And why go to such lengths just to get rid of me?!"

"Well, to answer your last question, because it's frankly more interesting and fun than just killing you, and also because I might always still have a use for you. And to answer your first, as it turns out, your daughter has somehow managed to sneak into this facility, probably due to some secret passage or another that I thought must have been covered up."

The King was so astonished, one could swear that a sack of bricks had just clobbered him over the head. "Sally? Here?"

"Yes, with her own small menagerie to boot. And at the rate they're going, they might just be able to save you. So I'm not going to give them that chance."

"Eggman, you shall answer to Gaea for this!"

"Better to rule in the Abyss than serve in Heaven, eh?", said Eggman. "Now, this portal will still take a few minutes to be fully charged, but in the meantime, let's see how things are going, shall we?" He flipped a switch on the machine and a holographic monitor appeared in the middle of the room, as Chirps and Rotor valiantly fought on in the far east corridor.

'Oh, what fun!", said Eggman. "I should have brought popcorn. Anyhoo, let's see just how Sleet holds his own, eh Dingo?"

* * *

"Chirps, I could use a little help over here! Just a FYI!"

Rotor was in the process of holding off an ever-growing throng of Swatbots and Troopers at bay, ripping them apart and tearing their heads off as soon as he saw the reds of their visors and eyepieces the minute they turned the corner. But no man is an island, and as sweat started to trickle down Rotor's brow like a river, he began to wonder if his island was going to sink.

"I"m working on it!", said Chirps. "This isn't exactly a spring picnic! And I'm not a spring chicken! And why do I keep using the word spring?!"

Chirps was alternating between calling up stone spikes and making them retreat back into the Earth with forming one stone wall after another to protect himself from Sleet's otherwise deadly assaults. Even though Chirps was calling up the spikes where he was pretty sure Sleet was going to be, the maniac still managed to dance around each and every one, which gave him enough time to try and go in for the kill. It was a song and dance the two were familiar with, long before they started working for Eggman, and while Chirps couldn't care less, Sleet was chipper as a chipmunk.

"Oh," said Sleet, "how I have missed this! Still, there is only so much you can do, isn't there? We're not exactly in your element, are we?"

"Thanks for the reminder. Rote! I got a better idea! How about we switch dance partners?"

"If you say so!", said Rotor. Chirps then blocked off Sleet with one more wall of Earth before rushing over to the bots while Rotor leaped over to Sleet. Just in time too. As Chirps began smashing apart the bots to smithereens with one spear of stone shooting up after another, Sleet cracked open the latest wall, only to find himself face to face with one husky walrus. "Hi there."

Before Sleet could have so much as a chance to adjust his strategy, he found himself dealing with one painful sock in the face like a sledgehammer. Like a golf ball, he was sent flying up and over to the wall on the other end of the corridor, slamming through it and creating a Mobian-sized hole straight through to the outdoors.

Sleet slowly got up and rubbed his jaw as though it smarted to high heaven. "Very well. If you wish to play hardball, then we shall play hardball!" He leaped back into the building and lunged at Rotor like a rabid dog. As if to prove that being brazen and vengeful did not win the race, Rotor dodged Sleet's lunge like a smooth criminal and socked him in the gut. He seized hold of Sleet's cybernetic arm, managing to bend it like a straw just enough to put it out of commission. "Why you…!"

"'Why you' what? Seriously, I'd like to know just what you thought you were going to do to me. Just out of curiosity, you understand."

Sleet quietly chuckled, like a master of poker who still had an ace up his sleeve. "Oh, not much at all. Just this." He lifted up his leg to reveal the sole of his cybernetic foot, which was shaped somewhat like a shoe. Underneath was what looked like a hole of some kind. "Big enough to shoot you with, my dear." A blast of energy then shot out of the hole like a cannonball.

"Whoah!" Rotor managed to dodge the thing, but it still grazed the side of his arm. He grunted in pain. It wasn't anything too severe, just a flesh wound, but darn if it didn't hurt like the dickens.

"Ready for more?", said Sleet. "Bon voyage!" He then began to fire out blast after blast, almost like a turret, and it was all Rotor could do just to dodge each of them as they came. More and more shots came out, and more and more holes continued to be blown into the walls, and more and more did Rotor have to leap and duck and do every manner of things that an overmuscled Walrus just should not have to have done.

Just then, he noticed an out. Right beneath his feet was a piece of metal, one torn straight from Sleet's arm. It must have had broken off when Sleet's arm was broken. Without an ounce of hesitation, he picked it up and held it at just the right angle. Another blast of energy came from Sleet's foot, but this time, Rotor was ready. Aiming the metal precisely, he managed to position it in such a way that when the blast came his direction, it rebounded off of the metal and, with one absurdly mortified look from Sleet, blasted him into the nearest wall, knocking him out like a light.

Rotor slowly crept up to Sleet just to make sure he was indeed down for the count. After not noticing so much as a single twitch, he then ripped out a strip of metal from one of the walls and wrapped it around Sleet in case he came to. If he did, then with any luck, that would hold him for a while. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he leaped back to Chirps, starting to get ever so slightly winded as the SWATbots and Troopers just kept coming.

"I managed to take care of Sleet," he said as he started to tear back into the bots. "Somehow."

Chirps, smashed three bots between two solid walls of earth while briefly summoning up another productive wall. "Yeah, he's funny that way. Funny like a comedian who's best joke is puking on the audience. Which isn't funny at all."

"Did anyone ever tell you you need to work on your sense of humor?" Rotor grabbed one SWATbot by the legs and smashed it into two other bots like a mace.

"Yeah." Chirps impaled a trooper on a spike and protected himself from another round of fire with another wall. "They also tell me that the sky's green and that Eggman is God. What else is new?"

Rotor suddenly got serious, or at least more serious than he already had been. "We can' keep this up forever. Something's got to give."

"I know Either we give them the time they need to get out of dodge, or we've just made a noble but futile gesture that ends with us and everyone else getting killed. I can't see any other way out of this."

"Same here. Let's hope the others get here soon, because if I'm going to be honest, this is not looking good."

* * *

"I'm going to be honest Sonic, this is not looking good."

Sonic with Sally in tow in was racing through the corridor like a leaf on the wind. Even though he knew now he could blow through his enemies like a buzzsaw if he wanted to, that wasn't exactly easy with Sally tagging along. Instead, he had to duck his way past enemy fire and dive under Swatbots and run along the walls just to get the both of them through it alive.

"Well," said Sonic, "maybe it'd look better if I didn't have to drag you along. No offense, but running in pairs kind of cramps my style."

"That sounded pretty offensive to me. Anyway," said Sally, Nicole still in her other hand, "we can't keep this up forever. Nicole, just how far away is the experimental wing?"

"WE ARE IN IT, SALLY." Sonic and Sally both glanced at Nicole as though she had just told them they nearly missed the Halloween Party. Sonic stopped himself cold, doing his best not to let his quills scratch Sally as they briefly skid across the floor. They looked around them. As far as they could tell, this was a corridor like any other, with the only differences being that there were no enemies around and that there were several doors lined up alongside the East Wall, each probably leading to some hazardous experiment or another

"Oh. That was fast."

"Hey, fast is my middle name! Now, let's head into one of these things and see just where old Kingy's at, shall we?"

Sonic opened the first door on the right, which just so happened to be straight in front of him. He slammed it open as though he were committing a robbery, with self-restraint not being a word in his dictionary. But what he saw wasn't pretty. "Eggman!"

"Ah, the speedy little blue rodent!", said Eggman. "How good of you to join us! We're just about to send the good old King on the adventure of a lifetime! Dingo, if you'll do the honors?!"

"Bon voyage mate!" said Dingo. In a flash, he proceeded to turn himself into a miniature catapult, with the King safe inside the 'pult. Not that it lasted long.

At just that moment, Sally shoved her way past Sonic as she barged into the room as though her life depended on it. "Where's Daddy?! Daddy?!"

"SALLY!", the king shouted. And just as he did so, the catapult launched, sending the King hurtling towards the void.

"Oh crap!" Sonic raced towards the King, but as he jumped into the air to save him, he found himself swiftly crashing straight to the floor like a dead weight. Dingo had turned part of himself into a long wirey tentacle like a whip and launched it at Sonic in the time it would take someone to take a breath, bringing him down to Earth faster than one could say 'pawned'. "Not always so fast in the air, are ya mate?!", said Dingo.

"Get off of me!" Sonic desperately tried to wrench the tentacle off of him. Sally rushed in too, attempting to stomp or kick or pound the thing as much as she could, but it was too late. She looked up just fast enough to see her father yelling his daughters' name at the top of his lungs as he plunged straight into the portal before it blinked out of existence like a twinkle.

"SALLY!"

"DADDY!"

He was gone. Flung into some otherworldly realm just like that. She didn't know how it happened, she wasn't even sure just WHAT happened, all she knew was that it did. As Sonic finally managed to tear off Dingo's tentacle, all Sally could do was slump down to the ground like a lifeless ragdoll.

Sonic wasn't faring much better. He had said he'd save the king. That he'd free Sally's father, save the kingdom, and beat the crap out of Eggman all with a snap of his fingers. So how come he hadn't done just that? He looked up for a moment at where the portal had been, wondering why in the name of Gaea he wasn't fast enough. Which just wasn't possible. He was always fast enough. Wasn't he?

Meanwhile, all Eggman could do was laugh up a storm, his belly rolling like jelly. "This is rich! So close and yet so far. It almost makes everything worth it!"

"Shut the hell up!" Sonic raced towards Robotnik, his hand outstretched as though he were trying his darndest to grab Eggman's girth like a tub of lard, but another tentacle from Dingo shot up straight in front, set on blocking his path.

"Out of my way!" Sonic powered straight through Dingo's tentacle with a knife, the latter howling in pain as he tried to morph parts of himself over the wound like a band-aid. With Dingo temporarily out of the picture, that just left Doctor Eggman, standing there ripe for the picking. And as Sonic once again outstretched his hand, he had every intent on picking up…

…a force-field?

Sonic bounced back against an orange dome of energy that had just sprung into existence as Eggman touched a button on his wrist communication device, surrounding Eggman from head to toe. He wasn't even sure what hit him until he got a good look. It was as though Eggman were being covered by a translucent orange, or at the very least by a brown egg.

"Now now. Manners."

"I'LL SHOW YOU MANNERS!", Sonic, much to his surprise, had become so much more incensed than he had ever been in his entire life, as though he could never forgive himself. He again tried to rush towards the dome, turning himself into a Mobian buzzsaw at the last minute. And the result was still the same.

"You know, one of the definitions of insanity is attempting to perform the same action and expecting different results. Guess what that makes you?"

"YOU SON OF A—"

"Ah-ah!" Eggman waved his finger as though he were a teacher chastising a preschooler. "Language. Now, if you'll kindly sit down and keep yourself from trying to murder me for a minute, maybe you'll learn something." Having gotten his second wind, Dingo promptly lashed out another tentacle, preferably NOT the one that still felt like hell, and managed to keep Sonic hogtied as he struggled all the while, as though he just couldn't bear to give up and give Eggman the satisfaction.

"Now, this here is what is a called a force-field, which keeps pesky little nuisances like you and your friends out. And it's about to get a whole lot bigger. Any minute, another forcefield much larger than this one will swallow up this entire city, covering all in its' wake and preventing anyone from going in or out. So if you'd prefer to leave here in one piece, I'd suggest the lot of you clear out. Immediately. Lest you want to end up like the poor old Kingy!"

Before Sonic could say another word, three words sprang from Sally's lips as she finally fought her way back to reality. "You clear out," she muttered.

"What was that? I don't quite think I heard you."

"YOU CLEAR OUT!", roared Sally, rising from the floor like a mighty geyser, finally letting out some steam after letting everything be pent up for so long. "You hear me! You took over my kingdom, desecrated my city, put my people in chains, and did… I don't even know what you did to MY DAD, and you think you can just tell us to 'clear out' like you own the place?! Well, know this buster! We'll 'clear out', but only because we have every intention of getting this place back! Of getting my Dad back! Do you hear me?! As of you now, you're public enemy #1! And I won't rest until you face justice! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME?!

Every single other person in that room was stunned speechless. Just a minute ago, she'd been slumped on the floor as though she might never be herself again, and now here she was giving the law of the land. Might make one almost think she was a Princess. "We're leaving!", shouted Sally. "But we WILL be back." No sooner than she had said that, Sonic snapped out of it and managed to wrench himself from Dingo's grasp, twisting himself around with just enough momentum to cause Dingo's tentacles to drop him like a hot potato as he screamed in agony. To which Sonic could care less.

"You can't tell me we're just gonna' up and leave?!", said Sonic.

"DON'T QUESTION ME!", shouted Sally. "Not now! Please. Just get us out here."

"Alright, alright. Just chill out, okay?"

Before either of them had the chance to say 'sorry', another tentacle came Sonic's way, but before it could, Sonic grabbed Sally by the hand and, in nearly the blink of an eye, away they went."

"YOU BLOODY BIKES!", said Dingo, still occasionally whimpering in pain as he did his best to cover up and heal his wounds like plugging a sieve. "YOU'LL GET YOURS WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU, YOU—"

"Not so fast Dingo. Eggman held up a hand as if to say one shouldn't be so hasty.

"You saw what he did to me! I feel like sushi! Part of me's still smarting."

"Which I completely understand," said Eggman, "I do. But discretion is the better part of valor. I don't care what happens to them just now as long they don't pose a threat. And once no longer within Robotropolis, they won't be able to bypass the Dome that easily. Nevermind that it even reaches straight into the sewers."

"But don't you want to make them pay?! Hang them by their knackers and beat them till they're good an' tender?!"

"I wouldn't put it in quite such a fashion, but you more or less have the general principle down. And yes, I do. And they will. But if they made it in, they can make it out. Now's not the time."

"Then when is?!"

"When I say so! Comprende?! In the meanwhile, we need to bide our time; build our resources and make our next move. And once we're done, they may as well be completely and utterly helpless. But right now, let's just watch the fireworks, shall we?" He pressed a switch on the computer and it darkened for the briefest of moments before lighting back up, with Sonic and Sally shown racing straight past the bots as they made a beeline for the secret passage. "Oh, this is just too much!"


	15. The Fastest Thing Alive, Part 15

"YOU WANT A PIECE OF THIS?!"

Shortfuse rammed straight into a SWATbot before using both hands to tear off its' dome. He lobbed it straight through the head of a trooper before dodging another SWATbot's laser blastbefore he proceeded to dive straight through the thing like a large drill shined to a sheen. A Trooper then aimed his laser shotgun at Shortfuse, straight in the back, as though he'd finally be the one to end this menace once after all. Unfortunately for them, the only thing it really did to him was make him tickle.

"Thanks. Really helped take care of that itch!" He then fired one of his wrist-lasers at the Trooper square in the head before roaring like a madman as he tore straight into the lot of them. This had been for all intents and purposes how the rest of the fight had progressed, SWATbots and Troopers continuing to roll in as if sent by committee while Shortfuse smashed them to pieces like ripping apart tinfoil, with the occasional wrist-laser thrown in to mix things up.

Sonic and Sally skidded back into the lab, only stopping to pick up a freeloader. "Hey Shortfuse!", said Sonic. "You comin'?! Hate to say it but it's now or never!"

"Just give me a minute here! I'm cleanin' up the trash."

"You can clean up my chili dog wrappers for all I care! Eggman's trapping us all in! We don't get out now, we're toast!"

"You serious?! Oh come on!"

"We're not debating this. If you aren't coming, I'll—"

"Oh, fine, fine! Whatever. Let's just get out of here, huh?" Shortfuse then blasted over to Sonic and Sally like a rocket as a jet thruster ignited from his boots. "Which way's the exit?" Sonic and Sally simply pointed to the South. "Lovely. Fine, whatever. Let's just go." And as Sally and Sonic led the way, Shortfuse couldn't help but wonder what was even going on at that point.

* * *

"Okay, this has gotta stop."

Rotor and Chirps continued to fight the good fight, dodging or protecting themselves against wrist-blasters and rifle fire and what have you, but they were starting to get just a touch winded. It was like a swarm of ants that just wouldn't let up.

Chirps raisdd another wall of Earth to defend himself against another blast. "Seriously, where does he get those wonderful toys?! And did I just commit plagiarism?"

Rotor ripping another bot in two. "I hate to say it, but this can't go on. We need to get out of . If we don't, we're done."

"Hate to say it too, but you may be right. But we can't just leave without the others."

Just then, in came Antione and Bunnie from the other corridor, Bunnie hobbling along as Antione did his best to keep her up.

"Easy, easy Mademoiselle!", said Antione.

"Please sugar, just call me Bunnie. Though it is sweet."

Antione began to blush. "Uh, ahem, yes. As you wish, Miss Bunnie."

Bunnie giggled. "Okay, whatever works for you."

They managed to make it to the middle of the corridor before they noticed there was still a raging battle going on near the end, with Chirps and Rotor still holding the fort.

"Zut alors! Sir Chirps! Are you well?! Please give me a moment! I shall be right there!"

"Appreciate it," said Chirps, "but—"

Just then, Antione and Bunnie almost felt a draft whizz straight by like a fall breeze as Sonic and Sally came zipping back into the corridor, with a loud roar of jet engines resounding throughout the area as Shortfuse flew in right behind.

"Sally!", said Antione and Bunnie, almost in unison.

"Finally!" Chirps impaled another bot with yet another stone spear. "Was starting to think you'd never come. Like Shayne. Not even sure that's a real movie to be honest."

"CHIRPS!" shouted Sally. "GET US OUT OF HERE! NOW!"

"You don't have to tell me twice! Except when you do. Which isn't today." Chirps lifted his hand down as the wall of earth surrounding the entrance to the secret passage finally came down once again. "That's it, people! Everybody in!" Chirps and Rotor scrapped one last batch of bots before racing towards the exit, with everyone else doing the same. Sonic raced Sally in before doing the same with Antione and Bunnie, though given that she weighed like a sack of bricks, that one was a touch more of a struggle. Still, they managed to get everyone in nonetheless, and as another pack of bots scrambled after them, Chirps managed to cover the whole thing up just as they reached the entrance. The bots began pounding on the thing, attempting to cave their way through as though they were hunters desperate to seize their prey.

"Zut alors!" said Antione, his legs again knocking as soon as Bunnie had left his grasp. "They cannot come after us, surely?"

"Might," said Chirps," if we stick around long. So let's make sure we don't. And don't call me Shirley."

"Come on!" said Sally. "We're all getting out of here! I won't let anyone else get left behind." For just the briefest of moments, Sally stood still as a board, almost as though she were seeing something that she would rather forget. She shook her head as though she couldn't bear to see it before carrying on, leading the crew towards a pair of stairs below.

"Everyone follow me." And everyone did, though of all of them, Sonic was the last to follow. He looked behind at the wall of earth as just the slightest of cracks started to show, though it wasn't the wall he was looking at. He was looking at something else, something that couldn't be seen, and if one could see what both he and Sally were seeing, one could swear they were seeing the same thing.

"Damn it." He shook his head, desperate not to think about it. He couldn't think about it. Not now. He sped down the stairs like a blur, wondering just what the point of it all was. Or if there even was a point.

* * *

Eggman stormed into the control room with Dingo right behind him. Snively swiveled around in his chair, desperately hoping that he didn't have to go to the toilet.

"Good job Snively," said Eggman. "The forcefield system worked like a charm. I suppose being a toiler scrubber isn't in your future after all."

Snively breathed as though he had just won another day to live. "Thank you, sir. Though speaking of which…"

"The toilet or the forcefield?"

"Uh, the forcefield, sir. Speaking of that, it's still going to take some minutes for the field to activate. Enough time for those pests to scamper away into the sunset. If they manage to escape and leave the city limits, we won't exactly be able to send reinforcements after them without shutting off the field."

"That is just something we'll have to live with Snively. Besides, there's always a Round Two. It's all part of the game. Though I do believe we've won something of a conciliation prize. Dingo, show me your hand, won't you?"

"What's this all about, boss?" Dingo had managed to shift himself enough so that he could heal most of his wounds, but he was still just a touch smarting.

"Just trust me on this, won't you Dingo?"

Dingo wasn't sure what to think, but then again, thinking wasn't what he was known for. He held out his hand, which still had a bit of a scab on it.

"Right." Eggman began to examine the hand meticulously. "Let's see here. Doo do doo, do doo doo, do do… ah! There we are! He pulled out a pair of tweezers from his black pants and pulled out a slight blue sliver from Dingo's hand before reaching into his pants again and pulling out a small plastic bag, and placed it within. Dingo yelped just slightly in pain before he managed to shift part of himself over the wound in short order.

"What in the bloody hell was that for?!", yelled Dingo.

"Why, this." Eggman held up the plastic bag for all to see as if displaying a rare artifact of priceless renown. "Exhibit A: Quill of Hedgehog. Or at least a sliver of it. Can anyone give me another name for this most priceless of artifacts?"

Snively took just one look at the bag and smiled as though he'd hit upon the score of a lifetime. "Hedgehog DNA."

"Egg-xactly."

* * *

"Are you alright Bunnie? Come on, it is upsey-daisy, no?"

Antoine was kneeling above a hole in the ground in the middle of a small batch of trees sitting above a tall hill, some ways away from Mobotropolis. He could still see it in the distance like a looming specter, but by now, they were all far away. Most everyone had managed to get through the sewers and come through the secret entrance outside the capital, built in ancient times just in case one needed to evacuate in secrecy, with some assistance from speedy Sonic and flying high Shortfuse helping to get everyone away as quick as they could. Bunnie was the last one to climb up the ladder after they'd managed to haul Antione's dad up there, and thanks to being stuck with a new set of limbs and no experience in balancing them, it was something of a struggle.

"Coming Antione," said Bunnie, just a few bars away from the top. "It's just, this is a heck of a lot harder than it looks. Least for me."

"You need any help there miss?", said Rotor. "I could probably help pull you up if you wanted me to."

"Thanks, but this is somethin' I gotta do myself. I ain't letting these things get the best of me." She did her best to focus herself, breathing in and out, doing her best not to crush the bars like aluminum. She'd already dented one of the lower bars a titch on the way up, and she wasn't keen on pulling a repeat.

"You are sure you do not need any help?", said Antione.

"I'll let you know if I do. But thanks sugar." Bunnie began to climb up the last few bars, steadying herself and slowly making the climb. Her limbs could still be a tad wobbly, and she had trouble placing them on the next bar more than once, but she managed to make it.

"Just a little more Bunnie. That is it, you are doing very well!"

Bunnie didn't hear him. She was busy trying not to fall to a very hard landing below, or crush the bars while she was at it. She reached for the next one and grabbed it. She lifted up her foot and set it. Grab, set. Grab, set. Each step took a while and with as much effort as pulling a sack full of steel bars, but she was doing it nonetheless. One two, one two, one two—

Bunnie gasped in shock. The bar beneath her had given way, and if she didn't do something, she risked falling to her doom. Antoine was the first one to reach for her, and at just the last possible second, he seized her hand like his life depended on it. But it wouldn't be enough. Thankfully, it didn't have to be. Sonic raced in like a flash, grabbing Antione's free hand, and Sally did the same with Sonic. Still, try they as might, they were still trying to lift up a partially cybernetic Bunnie that had just forcibly put on weight. "Sugars," said Bunnie, dangling in mid-air, "a little help here please!"

This was a chain that needed a dead weight. Thankfully, they had two potential candidates on hand. Rotor decided it was time to rush in and pull his weight, but just before he could, Shortfuse beat him to the punch. Shortfuse squeezed Sally's hand "(A little tight!") and pulled back her and the rest like tugging back a piece of string. One by one, they were all pulled away from the hole, ending with Bunnie finally being pulled out and brought to safety.

"Whoo!", said Antione. "You are safe! Thank Gaea. Are you unhurt Bunnie?"

"Never better." Bunnie was breathing heavily, somewhat exerted as if she'd been forced to run several dozen laps around a football field, but other than that, she wasn't doing too bad for herself. "Just having to learn how to balance these things. It ain't always fun. But thanks, Ant'." She gave him a peck on the cheek. Antione blushed like a cherry and practically nearly fainted as though this was too good to be true.

"Good to see you're safe Bunnie," said Sally, picking herself up after falling flat on her arse. Just then, a red and yellow forcefield sprung up over Mobotropolis, keeping everyone in within it and keeping everyone else out. And if what Eggman said was true, not even the sewers could get them through now.

"Alright," said Sally. "As you all just saw, Mobotropolis is closed off. Whether or not anyone goes in or out is up to Eggman. And the King… Daddy is… he's gone. So. What do we do now?" She paused for a moment, just brief enough to let her audience take it all in.

"Well, I'll tell you one thing. That man leveled my city, kidnapped my father, and then did only Gaea knows what with him! And I've no doubt he's going to try and take over the rest of the kingdom. Who knows where he'll go from there. So I'm not letting him go one step further without a fight. A fight for freedom. But I can't do it alone. I know it's a lot to ask, but as Princess of the Acorn Kingdom, and just as a woman trying to take back what's hers and everyone's, I'm asking you. Will you help me?"

For a time, all was silent. Whether it be from uncertainty or the magnitude of what was being asked or just waiting for someone else to answer, the stage was barren and waiting for someone to take it. And then, right as an air of dread begin to fall over the crowd, Antione's hand shot sky high into the air like a rocket.

"As I have already said, Princess Sally," said Antione, "I will fight alongside you as long as you shall need me. Even if I am having a heart attack while doing it."

"Well said, sugar!", said Bunnie. "You need my help, Sal, you got it. Sides, I'm not letting him go after what he and that creep did to me."

"Same here," said Shortfuse. "I don't give a crap about the kingdom or honor. All I know is that those SOB's took the only thing I had left. And I'm making them pay. With or without you. Still, strength in numbers. But DON'T get in my way."

"Well," said Porker, "I'm not going to be such a pig about it, ironic I know, but not to put too fine a point on it, Eggman used me. He promised me that I could help him make a better world, but all he really wanted was for me to help him push his own agenda. And I'm sick of being used. If you need an engineer, I'm your guy."

"Same," said Tekno. "Also used. Don't like it. You need a scientist, I'll be there."

"And if you need a mechanic," said Rotor, "just count me in too! You think I'm just going to stand by while some genocidal madman tries and takes over a whole country? Fat chance. I've already got some experience with one power-hungry dictator trying to take a nation over. You need my help, you've got it."

"Same goes for me," said Chirps. "Like the pig and the bird, I was used. Wasn't given the full scoop. I'm a mercenary, not a terrorist. Still got standards. Mind you, I don't work for free. Long as you just promise to give me a fair cut when you get back the kingdom, I'm in. Innie and outtie. Out of the ballpark. Take me out to the okay I'll shut up now."

"Well," said Manic, "me and Sonia already said our piece, didn't we, Sonia?"

"Sure did," said Sonia. "Besides, I still haven't found out anything about my Dad. Until I do, you haven't seen the last of me. And that's a promise. Well, Sonic?", she said, turning to the blue blur. "You still haven't as much as made a peep. I'd figure you'd be the first one to jump on the bandwagon."

Sonic was sulking in the corner as though he just wasn't sure what wagon he should even be on. All he knew was that he couldn't save him. He wasn't fast enough. He certainly wasn't fast enough to beat Eggman. He hadn't delivered on a single promise he'd made to Sally. So the question was, just what good was he?

"Yeah," said Sonic, "I'm in." He said it half-heartedly, as he wasn't really sure if he even SHOULD be in. For the first time in his life, Sonic was standing still. "And about your Dad, Sonia? We've got to talk."

Sally wasn't a fool. She could see just how Sonic was feeling. But she didn't have the heart to face him. She knew it wasn't his fault, but the fact was, even if she knew it wouldn't be easy as he said it would be, he couldn't save her father. He knew she couldn't blame him, that he still tried. But still. She just couldn't. Not now. "Thank you, everyone. With all of us standing together, we may just stand a chance. As Freedom Fighters."

At that, everyone except for Shortfuse, Tekno, and Sonic pumped their fists into the air shouting "FOR FREEDOM!" at the top of their lungs. Though even Sally only did so after everyone else decided to start a trend.

"For Freedom," she said. "That said, we still have a long way ahead of us, though our first stop along the way is Knothole Forest. I'll be with you all in a moment." She walked down from the top of the hill, but as she did so, her steps slowed, the weight of it all once again crashing in.

Bunnie hopped on over to Sally as she moved away from the others, trying to get as far away as possible as they started talking amongst themselves. "What's wrong Sugar?"

"Bunnie…" Sally's eyes were starting to well up like a fine mist. She'd tried to hold it in, to be the strong leader they all needed her to be, but right here and right now, it just wasn't enough.

"Oh, girl. Come on, sugar." Bunnie gave Sally a soft, simple hug, like a big sister comforting her younger sibling. "Just let it all out, girl."

And she did just that.


	16. Standing Still, Part 1

"So, what do we do next?"

Sally was sitting around the campfire in the early autumn afternoon sun with some of the others, all enjoying some of Antione's specially made stew. Johnny took a sip, savoring every morsel as if it could be his last.

"Seems to me," said Johnny, "we've got to figure just how we're gonna go up against a genocidal poultry product who can prop up large-arse force-fields on a whim."

Porker took a sip, balking as the sheer intensity of the heat like a cat whose food hadn't been prepeared just right. "What we need is a base. Somewhere where we can plan things out, organize things, have somewhere where we can strike against Eggman without him knowing where we are." He then gestured towards the canvas that was Knothole Forest around him. "Granted, we already have part of that covered, but I think we still need an actual headquarters."

"Have ideas in mind," said Tekno, still not quite back to her old self. She was a bit more spaced out from the group than the others, inching away whenever anyone else got close, but at the very least, she'd managed to get her air of general confidence back. "Problem is that we need the resources to create it. Short supply just now."

"That is a problem," said Sally.

"Yeah," said Rotor. "There are all sorts of things I could whip up, not least among them being some special gadgets to give those of us without any powers some extra punch, but right now, it's just not possible."

"We also need information and supply routes," said Chirps. "First step by step, ahem, first step of starting a rebellion. Without supplies, you can't do anything, and without information, you're dead in the water. Like an inbred fish. I could help you get them set up, but it'd still be nice to have a head start."

"It would be," said Sally, "but right now, I'm afraid that just isn't an option."

"And that is where you are mistaken."

Like a voice from on-high, a low, deep, yet somehow eloquent baritone came from above as a giant owl in a red bathrobe swooped down from the trees before landing with a bow akin to that of the most gentlemanly of gentlemen. Everyone else was suddenly at the ready, but Sally just stared at it as if slowly starting to remember an old friend. "Harvey? Harvey Who?"

"The one and only," said the owl. "Harvey Who, Acorn Kingdom's Director of Intelligence at your service. Though I suppose one could say former Director, sadly."

"Thank God," Sally muttered. "Good to see you Harvey. Everyone, this is Harvey Who, and he is who he says he is."

"Hold up," said Johnny. "Just how'd you find us anyway?"

"As I said," said Harvey, "I AM the Director of Intelligence. I think I would know where a resistance group would be hiding out. And of course, I am an owl. We tend to have better vision than most."

"Harvey," said Sally, "there is one thing I need to ask. How did you manage to escape?"

"Quite simple. I flew the coop. As soon as Robotnik made his move, I took off like a bat from hell."

"And you didn't think to see if the King was alright?"

Harvey helped himself to a bowl of stew, managing to use the edges of his wings like a makeshift pair of hands. A triumph if anyone ever saw one. "The King is an old and dear friend of mine, but think. If Eggman were to get ahold of me, he would potentially have access to every single iota of knowledge stored in my noggin. And there's a lot of it. In my line of work, , one must not afford to take chances. Regardless of how much one sometimes wishes they did."

"I understand. It's just… things have been difficult. Let's leave it at that for now."

"Not from Armada?", said Tekno.

"No," said Harvey, "though I have heard of the group. Nasty fellows, the lot of them. Except you my dear, I am sure."

Chirps raised his hand. "Ahem."

"You too, eh? Though to be honest, I'm not so sure about you. Chirps, isn't it?"

Chirps took a swig of stew, as if trying to keep his mind off of anything else. "So, already know of me, huh? Makes sense."

"Indeed it does. I do my best to know all there is to know. It is, or at least was, my job."

"Speaking of which," said Sally, "there's a lot we need to know. "If you could help us in any way…"

"My dear, I would be delighted. But why don't we start with what it is YOU know, hm?"

* * *

Sonic was busy pacing atop a hill several yards away from the camp. He was going back and forth like a pendulum, as if he wanted just to stand still but had too much energy to leave it at that.

Tails flew in from the north, not having much better to do as Sally and the others discussed just what they were going to do next. 'Big people talk', they said. Phooey. "Big Bro?" said Tails.

Sonic kept pacing to and fro, almost like a broken record.

"Hey, big bro?" Tails landed with pitch-perfect precision like a machine. And Sonic just kept on pacing.

"BIG BRO!"

"WHOA!" Sonic practically became the fastest jumping bean alive as he hopped back as though someone was gunning for his head. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. "Oh. Lil' bro. Hey." And Sonic went right back to pacing.

"Big bro, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, lil bro. Just, just nothing. Just leave me alone."

Tails for the briefest of moments considered doing just that. It was a VERY brief moment.

"No."

"What? What brought this on?"

"Listen here, 'big bro'. You're the one who out of the blue made me your 'lil bro', and you my 'big bro.' I didn't ask for a 'big bro.' I never wanted to be anyone's 'lil bro.' But here we are. So if we're to be bro's, we might as well act like it. Or what's the point? So come on, big bro. Sonic. What's wrong?"

Sonic clenched his fists, his first thoughts being to just run like the wind and be done with it all. Which wasn't a bad idea. But no. Something kept him, of all things, standing still. As though maybe he'd just been waiting to pour out his heart to somebody and didn't even know it. Not until now.

"You want to know what's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong. I came into Mobotropolis just wanting to enjoy myself; have some fun, see the sights, and then get on with my day. That was it. Then Eggman attacks. Well, no problem there, I'm thinking; might even be fun! Then I meet a hot babe and tell her I'll save her kingdom, rescue her dad, and beat the crap out of Eggman in ten seconds flat. So then, what's the problem here?"

"You haven't done it yet," said Tails, his comprehension dawning as Sonic poured out his troubles.

"You're freaking right! I haven't done it! Sally's capital is a lost cause, and the kingdom might turn out the same if Eggman has his way! Eggman is still out there laughing his fat arse off, and I can't say I blame him! And Sally's dad. Oh Gaea, Sally's dad."

Tails reached out to put a hand on Sonic's shoulder as his back was turn, trying to comfort him like the lil' bro he kept saying he was. "You tried, big bro. Sometimes, that's all anyone can do."

Sonic spun back around before Tails' hand could reach him, that he even knew about it. "Except that's not all I can do! Or at least it shouldn't be. I'm supposed to be the fastest thing alive! So how come I wasn't fast enough to save him? How come, huh? How come?!"

"I don't know. But I don't think you should even be asking yourself that question. You couldn't help what happened."

"Maybe. Except if that's the case, what am I even doing here? If I can't 'help what happened,' if I can't make a difference, then what good am I?"

"You're the fastest thing alive. Isn't that good enough?"

"And that's another problem. I AM the fastest thing alive. Which means I can go just about anywhere I please. Except if I stay here, that's not gonna be the case anymore, is it? Heck, the only reason I offered to help was cause I thought this was all gonna be over in one night. Fat chance of that."

"Well, it isn't. This isn't something that's just going to be over with a snap of your finger." Tails snapped his own fingers, a small attempt at some visual aid. "That's something you need to accept."

"I know. But I don't know if I can."

"Then that's something you're going to have to come to terms with on your own. But I'll say this. I really liked having a big bro. Even if he could be kind of a jerk sometimes. And I hope he sticks around." Having said his piece, Tails flew off, knowing that whatever Sonic was going to choose, it would have to be of his own making.

"Funny," muttered Sonic as he watched Tails fly away into the sunset. "Now he's the one leaving me behind. Ain't that a kick?"

After a long while, Sonic ran off through the trees, though over in the bushes, if one listened very closely, one could hear something stirring from within. It wasn't a very loud something, but in a low, hushed whisper, one could hear just one single word:

"Aliens."

* * *

"'Triplets borne, the throne awaits; a seer warns of a deadly fate…' Oh, this is never going to work!"

Mina sat up on the low-hanging tree branch she'd been laying down on, trying her best to come up with a brand new song. Not that it made a difference. "I don't even know what the point is, Sonia. Why even bother trying to come up with new music when everything could just come crashing down around us? When it could all be over just like that?"

"Hm?" Sonia had been lying underneath the branch in the tall, willowy grass, almost letting it embrace her as though part of her wanted it to drag her down into the dirt below so that she wouldn't have to face today. And then she heard Mina. "Oh. Sorry, Mina."

She supposed that would have to wait. Sonia slowly sat up, occasionally plucking a blade of grass out from her dark pink quills. "Sorry. Had a lot on my mind." Indeed, when one finds out their father is bankrolling a deranged madman, one does tend to have quite a lot on their minds, as it so happens.

"Oh, sorry. It's just, what are we even doing here?"

"Well, I know what I'm doing here. More than ever. I guess the question is, what are you doing here? Though I thought your mind was pretty made up."

"Well, it was kind of in the heat of the moment, you know? Just, everyone else was pledging to give it their all to take down Eggman; I didn't want to let everyone down or be seen as the odd Mobian out!"

"So, what, you really just want to up and leave, just like that?"

"I don't know!" Mina mussed her hair as though she were trying to tear at her brains. "I don't know, and I think that's really what's getting to me. I mean, I want to help, I really do. And I CAN help too. Ever since I nearly tumbled off that cliff a year ago, I've been able to run circles around just about everyone. I'm the second fastest thing alive. So I guess if I didn't help, I'd feel guilty."

"But?"

"But, I guess what the other part of me wants to do more than anything else is just keep writing and singing music. I mean, you know me, Sonia. That's always been a passion of mine; what I've always really wanted to do. Write and sing and just, you know, just make people happy. I think."

"You think?

"Well, I've never really thought that about just what I wanted to do with my music. I mean, I thought I wanted just to make people happy, but I've been starting to think there should be more to music than just that. Only I'm not sure just what that 'more' should be. But that's kinda' a mute point, isn't it? While I'm here fighting, I can't devote as much time to my music, but while I'm spending time on my music, innocents might be out there dying that I could have helped save! I'm just not sure what to do."

Mina then noticed that Sonia seemed to be staring into some unknowable void, or at least one would think so given the almost vacant expression on her face. "Something wrong?"

"Nah, not really. Just thinking."

"Yeah."

"Look, if you ask me, we could use all the help we could get. And you'd be a lot of help. But I guess it's not as if I'm impartial here. Mina, you're one of my best friends. So if you were to up and leave, especially now, I don't know what I'd do."

Mina jumped down off of the branch and zipping right up to Sonia, hugging her like a stuffed teddy bear. "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be. Heck, it was probably selfish of me to even say it. But you gotta do whatever you gotta do. Don't worry about me. I would like you to stay, everyone would like you to stay, but that's something you've got to decide for yourself."

"I know. I just wish I didn't have to, is all."

* * *

After deciding he was determined to NOT be the fastest sadsack alive, Sonic decided to take a little run around the forest. Like a bullet, he was darting through the grass and dashing through the bushes, and it did wonders in making him feel alive. But that didn't mean he felt any more sure of himself. He came to a halt in a clearing, where Bunnie seemed to be doing her best to up her balancing act. She was trying to walk over to Antione as straightly and naturally as possible, her back stiffened and her poise ladylike as could be, but she couldn't help but nearly tumble over with every step. Before long, something finally gave, and Bunnie started making a tumble for the dirt. Sonic was just about to rush in to sweep her off her feet, but Antione had already seen to that. As soon as he noticed Bunnie was about to topple over, Antione raced in, propping her back up and holding her until she managed to get herself together.

"Thanks, Ant'," said Bunnie. "Guess I'm still getting the hang of this, huh?"

"Do not worry, mon Cherie Bunnie," said Antione. "This is something that will take time. You cannot hope to get used to three new limbs in one day."

"I know. Though I wish I could. Seriously though Ant,' thanks for helpin' me. I know you're worried about your father and all. He still isn't waking out of that coma you know."

"Yes. It is, shall we say, most troubling. I do not even know where to begin. If my father is dead, I do not know what I shall do."

"Well, my parents are safe and sound in the country. For now anyway. But still, I really am sorry for you Antione."

"Please mon Cherie," said Antione, "do not be. Though it is appreciated. It is you who received, shall we say, the raw end of the deal."

"Yeah." Bunnie clenched her fist tight. "You know, I may have seemed like the big responsible girl back there, but I really did want to kill him. If Shortfuse wasn't there, if he didn't give me a reason to be the bigger bot, I don't know what I would have done. And honestly Ant', it scares me."

"I know, mon Cherie. But I also feel that you would have been able to overcome yourself even if there had been no-one there to give you a reason to."

"And how do you know that?"

"I do not know. I just do."

Bunnie giggled like a schoolkid. "Oh Ant', who ever knew you had a sense of humor? My stars!"

"I have a sense of humor?", said Antione with complete sincerity. "That would be a first."

"Oh Ant'!"

Okay, thought Sonic, this was starting to get just a tad too sickening for his tastes. Sonic dashed over to Bunny and Antione, skidding in the dirt as he made his breaks. "Hiya Bunnie. Hey, Ant'. How're things hanging?"

"Hey sugar-hog!", said Bunnie. "Not too bad. Well," she said, wiggling her arm, "all things considered."

"Uh huh. Anyway, you guys up to doing anything?"

"I am just helping Bunnie, shall we say, find her balance?" said Antione. "When training for the royal guard, we were shown and given many different techniques, including how to keep our balance in certain situations. So I am attempting to assist Bunnie with just that."

"Well, good for you." Sonic then attempted to walk off like a driftless layabout.

"Hey now," said Bunnie, "what's the rush, sugar-hog? Somethin' on your mind?"

"Yeah, you can say that."

"I know the feeling."

"You know, tell me something, Bunnie."

"Yeah sugar?"

"I don't want to be rude, but you were just this close to being turned into a walking talking wind-up toy. But it doesn't seem to bother you at all. Or if it does, you don't let it show. Just how do you manage that?

"I'll be honest, sugar. I don't know." Bunnie sighed like a slow touch of wind, not even really sure herself what the answer to that was. "I guess it's because, no matter how much I don't want to be hurt or how many times the universe decides to take a dump on me, it's because I don't want to see anyone else hurt or suffer that much. That's just who I am. If someone's in trouble, I gotta help. Couldn't do anything less. Don't mean I don't care about myself; I do. But there are just some things that are more important."

"More important, huh?"

"Well, yeah. Don't know how else to put it."

"Right. Well, thanks, I think. Though I'm still just not sure what to do."

"What to do about what?"

"Never mind. Thanks, but—"

"Hold on there, Sonic," said Antione. "I think I know what your problem is, yes?"

"And what's that, Ant'?"

"You do not wish to stay, do you?"

"And how do you figure that?"

"Why, it is written all over your face, monsieur. We have not known each very long, but I think I know you well enough to tell that you are a man who lives for action and adventure. You are not duty bound to serve any one man or woman or ruling power, and so are free to do as you wish. In fact, you are not even from this kingdom. If you wished to leave this place, we would not stop you."

"But?"

"But, I believe we would all be sorely disappointed with you if you did. You are many things Sonic. Among which includes being irresponsible, rude, selfish, insensitive, tone-deaf in more ways than one-"

Sonic stuck his fingers in his ears, just short of going 'La la la!' "Okay, okay! I get the hint!"

"Honestly, you really might have laid it down a bit too thick sugar, said Bunnie. "I mean, from how I hear it from Sally, there wasn't much Sonic could do. I'm not sure if Sally's over it, but it was a lost cause."

"Except I could have done something! Or I should've. There had to have been something I could do!"

"But there was not!" Antione's hands started to tremble ever so slightly. "There was nothing you could have done! The doctor had already arranged victory before it ever began! It is one of the first rules of war; win the battle before it even begins. He suspected we would come, or at least prepared for what he may well have considered just a slight possibility, and within his terrain, in his domain, it was almost suicide in hindsight. So that is not good enough to simply call it quits. And as I was saying, for all of your faults, that is one thing you most excel at."

"You mean doubting myself.

"Uh, no. Not exactly. What I meant was, when the chips are down, you seem like you would always be ready to charge forward. Even if you should not."

"Gee, thanks." Sonic's gratitude as visible as his last chili dog.

"Do not mention it," Antione grunted, as literal as one could get. "But the point is, you do not seem like one to give up so easily. Not to me. So I do not think sulking over something you could not help is going to help anyone. Not us, not Sally, and certainly not yourself."

"Maybe. That's something I'm gonna have to think about it. Thanks, Ant.'"

"Oh." That was new. Antione wondered if he was even speaking with the same Sonic he had met just a few days ago. "Well, ahem, thank you. I must say, that is most unlike yourself."

"Like you said, I've got a lot of things to think about. And maybe that's one of 'em. Catch you later!" Sonic dashed once more, leaving Antione and Bunnie in his dust. An entire cloud of it. Antione practically coughed his lungs out as it blew straight through him, breathing a sigh of relief as it moved on. Bunnie, however, wasn't in so dire a straight, only managing a few slight coughs herself as it passed through. Which wasn't something that exactly went unnoticed.

"That was also new," said Antione. "Are you alright Bunnie? I mean obviously you are, but I was wondering if you were alright in a different sense, which is to say—"

"It's okay Antione. I know what you meant, and it was very sweet. And you're right. By all accounts, I should have been coughing up a storm. But I wasn't. You'd think that'd be a good thing."

"But it is not, is it?"

"I don't know. And that's what really scares me, sugar."


	17. Standing Still, Part 2

"'…give up your children, separate, you must bide your time and… sate'? No, that's not right."

Mina was busy dashing through the woods like a gust of wind as she tried to just get her mind off of everything. Clear her head. It wasn't something she had done often, but given that they didn't have too much to do just now other than sitting around while Sally and some of the others sorted things out, she figured she might as well. She darted past the trees and through the bushes, hopping over stones and trampling over weeds, all while trying her best not to stomp on any flowers. She continued running, never realizing before how exhilarating this felt, how it made one feel so alive, how it could make one's head feel like they'd just hit a solid stone boulder—

No, wait a minute. That was how she felt after colliding head-on with Sonic the Hedgehog. The two knocked into each other like bumper cars, the both of them getting knocked to the ground and tumbling across the dirt, rolling down a small hill like soccer balls until they both managed to land at its' foot.

"Oh," I'm so sorry!", said Mina. "It was totally my fault, I swear, I should have seen where I was going—"

"No," said Sonic, "it's alright. I should have seen where I was going too. Totally not a problem. I think."

This, as had been remarked more than once that day, was new. "Uh, wow. Okay. If you really think so."

"Yeah, I know," said Sonic, able to tune in on just what her deal was. "Not what you'd expect from me, huh?"

"Well, if I'm going to be completely and utterly honest, then no. No, it isn't. That's not to say you're a bad person Sonic, of course not! You can just be rough around the edges is all. Well, maybe more than just rough."

"You don't need to rub it in. But yeah, you're not the first person to tell me that crap. And maybe he had a point. I've been doing some thinking, and one thing I know is that I'm not Gaea's gift to Mobius. Because if I were, you'd think I'd be able to rescue the King and save the day by now."

"Oh, Sonic, it's not your fault! You can't blame yourself for that!"

"I don't. Not anymore, anyway. But the fact is, I couldn't save him. And that tells me there are some things I just can't do. Even if I want to do them. And if there are things I can't do, then I guess I can't just snap my fingers and make everything the way it used to be before you can say 'succotash'."

"'Succotash?"

"Old family tradition. You should ask Sonia sometime. But yeah. I thought I was at the top of the food chain; that I could just send Eggman packing and go off to wherever it is I wanna go to. Fat chance."

"I know. What I want to do is just keep writing and making music, you know? That's what I've always dreamed of doing. Except now, I'm caught up in, well, this!"

"Hey, Mina, aren't your parents here on the island?"

"They were, but they left a week ago to visit my uncle over in Starlight City. So at least they're safe. And it also means there isn't anything keeping me here. Well, other than myself I guess."

"Yeah, I know the feeling."

Mina giggled like a schoolgirl. Gaia knows she needed something to laugh about. "Seriously though, this isn't easy. I guess I'm like you, sort of. I mean, I wasn't even really sure about this in the first place, but there was still a part of me that thought maybe we could do it, you know? And you were kinda a big part in that."

"Yeah," Sonic chuckled. "Kind of a bit hasty of me, wasn't it?

"Maybe. And now, well, let's face it. If we choose to stay, I mean, to REALLY stay, to help fight Eggman to the bitter end, we're going to be in this for the long haul. And that's even assuming we win. Why, even if we do, we could still…"

"Still kick it?"

"Well, you didn't have to put it like that! But basically, yeah. That's it really."

"And if we don't help, more people could die than if we did."

"Yeah."

They both sat at the foot of the hill underneath a tall, thick tree, the rays of the late afternoon sun shimmering through its' leaves and branches. It covered the pair while they sat, both for a moment not sure where they should go from there. Until at last, one of them was.

"Here's what I know," said Sonic. "I know that someone I could have saved, someone I promised to save, wasn't saved. I know, maybe I couldn't save him, maybe there wasn't that much I could've have done, maybe Eggman had even already planned for it, but I do know I don't want that to happen again."

"So. You've made your choice?"

"Think so. Just gotta break the news to Sal'," he said with a wink.

"Well, if you're staying, maybe I'll stay too."

"Hey, you do whatever you want, but if you're gonna stay, it shouldn't be because of me. You should do whatever YOU want to do. If there's anything anyone should do, it's being true to themselves. And part of that means not doing something just because someone else is doing it."

"Oh. I see."

"Hey, don't worry about it. You just gotta take your time, figure out what's right for you. Though I will say, it'd be nice to have some competition. Just don't be gunning for being THE fastest thing alive, okay? That's my spot."

Mina giggled again. "If you say so."

"And I do say so. I mean what I say and say what I mean. Except when I don't."

Cue more giggling. "You know, you're pretty funny when you want to be!"

"Thank you, I'll be here all week. Well, not HERE here. You know what I mean." He then flipped himself off of the ground and landed on his feet in the blink of an eye. "Well, guess I'd better talk to Sally. You keep thinking about whatever it is you want to do. Whatever it is, don't worry about it. You gotta do what you gotta do."

"Thanks, Sonic.

"No problem! Hey, anytime you want to talk, just let me know!"

"Oh. No problem!"

"That's what I like to hear! Anyway, I'm off. See ya soon!" And off he went. Mina should have taken off herself, but she couldn't help but just take a moment to sit back and gander at the leaves and rays of sun above her, at the beams of light interspersing with one another. As if two lives were converging on one another, mingling and conjoining, becoming one—

"I GOT IT!" She then darted off after Sonic, though not because of Sonic himself; rather, because she suddenly had a rather urgent need to see one Sally Acorn…

* * *

"Right, is that everything?"

Sally and the others were still sitting around the fire, only with Harvey Who also sitting in attendance. "I don't really know," said Harvey. "You tell me."

"Well," said Sally, "so far, we've been able to work out some intelligence networks. Those are still run by Geoffrey, right?"

"Indeed. In the event of a coup or some similar incident, Geoffery is the most likely agent to take control of the networks. He was my Deputy Director for years, so I cannot think of anyone better suited for the job."

"Right. After that, there's the supply routes. You said something about a path through Green Hill?"

"Indubitably," said Harvey. "Green Hill also boasts a number of farmers and villagers which I have no doubt would be a great source of vegetables and certain minerals, which you will surely be in need of."

"Definitely," said Rotor, "but that's not the only thing we'll need. We need tools, test tubes, iron, electricity, the works. If we want a fully functioning workshop and a lab, we need to pull out all the stops."

"I'm sure we can arrange something. Though I must say, things are looking a tad dire. I am truly sorry about the King, Sally."

Sally's eyes started to cloud up like a fine mist, but she did her best to rub them away like applying a thick towel. Fur could be quite handy when it came to mopping up those sorts of things. "It's alright, Harvey. There is nothing we could've done."

"Are you sure about that? Mind you, I was not there, but perhaps I should have been. I did give you some pointers all of those years ago. You'd think you would have learned something."

"No offense birdy, but stuff it." Harvey turned his head around like a screw to see who had the gall to address him, but to everyone's amazement, it was none other than Sonic the Hedgehog.

Harvey spoke as sweetly as poisoned honey. "I could stuff it, but that wouldn't do, would it? Stuffed birds are a rare commodity these days, and heaven knows I wouldn't want to stuff myself in any event. I'm afraid it simply won't do."

"Funny. And just who are you supposed to be anyway?"

"Director of Intelligence, or former director at any rate. And who might you be, if I may ask? Fair is fair."

"My name's Sonic the Hedgehog. Got somethin' to say?

"Well," said Sally, attempting to appear ever the consummate, detached professional, "we are kind of in a meeting here, Sonic. Can it wait?"

"Not really, no. Look Sal'. I know I said I'd save your dad. I know I said I'd save the kingdom. I know I said a lot of things. And I know I didn't do a one of them."

"Your point?"

"Oy." Sonic slapped his palm to his forehead, this close to just pulling out there and then. "Look, you have no idea how hard it is for me to say this, but, well, I'm sorry, okay?!" Sally was taken back, almost as if she were in shock. "I'm sorry about everything."

"Sonic," said Porker, "you can't blame yourself—"

"I don't, least not anymore. But I do blame myself for making promises I couldn't keep. So I figure maybe now it's time to make one I can. Sally, this is probably gonna kill me, but I'm gonna stay as long as it takes to take down old Eggface. You have my word."

Sally wasn't sure what to say. As much as part of her knew it wasn't his fault, that there was nothing he could have done, a small part of her had still blamed him for what happened to Daddy. Nevermind that he had made himself something of an easy target. But now? Now, she wasn't so sure if she could.

"Thanks Sonic. It really does mean a lot to me."

"No problem, Sal. Besides, I'm sure we'll beat Buttnik one day! It just ain't gonna be today."

"I know. Anyway, as long as you're here, why don't you take a seat? We were just discussing—"

Just then, barreling through the bushes came a yellow furred and purple haired streak that only stopped straight in front of the fire, the winds from her sudden brake nearly putting the darn thing out. "Sally!", said Mina. "There's something I gotta say! ASAP! Pretty please!"

"I guess speedsters think alike," muttered Sally. "Not a problem Mina. What's up?"

"I think it IS a problem," said Harvey, though everyone else promptly ignored him like the grumpy old uncle nobody likes.

"Well," said Mina, "I've been thinking, you know? And I've just had a problem with figuring out—"

"With figuring out whether or not you should stay or go, right?" said Sally.

Mina was nearly speechless. "How did you know?!"

"Just call it a lucky guess." Must be a speedster thing, she thought.

"Uh, well, it was a pretty good guess. Anyway, yeah, that's the gist of it. But I think I figured out just what I want to do!"

"Which is?"

Mina took a moment to get a couple of stray strands of hairs out of her hands, trying to move them away with puffs of air before foricablly putting them aside. "Well, I do want to help stay and fight; this is my home after all, but I really just want to keep on writing and making music. But I figure, why not do both?"

"Go on," said Sally.

"Well, I know Freedom Fighting's got to be our top priority and all, but I figure that all of that fighting can wear someone out. Might help to have something to keep their morale going when they need just a bit of cheering up to get through the day. So I figured, why not start a band? In fact, we don't even need to start one! We've already got me, Sonia, and Manic! And we've got plenty of extra hands if anyone wants to help. So when I'm not Freedom Fighting, I can still do what I really want to do while keeping everyone's spirits up. What hat do you think?"

Sally appeared to think long and hard, as if this one question were the most important one to ever be so much as spoken in the entire cosmos. And when she finally spoke, she asked the only question that ever truly mattered.

"What about instruments? Or are you going to pull a drumset out of your buttex?"

"Oh, Um, I figured maybe you could go out and get some? (Just maybe?)"

Sally looked intently at Harvey. "As it turns out, we may be able to do just that. Honestly Mina, it's not a bad idea. If we're going to be in this or the long haul, we could do something to keep our minds off of the fighting. A great many somethings, actually. I didn't think of it before, but we should have a library or something to keep us entertained during our off hours. Give us something to do. Harvey?"

"I will see what I can do."

"Very well then. Mina, you and the Oracles of Delphi are officially Knothole's #1 band. Assuming the other two still want to do it."

Mina breathed in and out as though any breath could be her last before jumping up and down like a schoolgirl. "YES! Thanks, Sally! And you too Sonic!"

"Hey, said Sonic, "if anything, I should be thanking you. You really helped clear my head."

"Same here."

"Sounds good," said Johnny. "In the meantime, we—" Johnny stopped. Every single iota of his being froze, all except his ears which twitched ever so slightly in the breeze."

"Hey," said Chirps, "you okay roadki— uh, sorry, you okay Johnny? Something eating you? Literally?"

Johnny stood there like a stone solid statue, never so much as moving a centimeter of an inch. It was as if he were waiting for something that the others couldn't quite hear. Or at least most of them. After a moment, Chirps had finally caught on, and was just as wary as the rabbit. Before long, everyone was still. Everything was silent. And in that silence, they could hear something. Something moving in the bushes; something trying to be ever scarier as though it were compensating for something. And then, with just one little series of words, it finally made its' grand entrance.

"ALIENS!"


	18. Sticks and Stones, Part 1

TEN MINUTES AGO

Antoine helped Bunnie hobble up the hill as they started to make their way back to the campsite. "Take it easy there, mon Cherie Bunnie. You do not want to be falling now!"

Bunnie was finding it ever easier to walk as any other Mobian could, but she still found herself nearly tipping over or falling on her kiester like an inflatable balloon doll from time to time. "Don't worry about me, sugar. Sides, shouldn't you be getting on back to Sal? You do have a job to do, don't you?"

"You are quite right. I do have a job to do. Two of them in fact."

"You mean watching over your father right? I know I've said it before, but I'm still so sorry for ya Ant'. Ain't there nothin' I can do?"

"Believe me," said Antione, as sweet as could be, "you have already done enough."

"Hey now, ain't you a charmer?"

Antione began to blush as red as a beat, his hands shaking and his legs knocking like a doorknocker. "Uh, well, that is to say, uh, ahem…"

"Hey, don't get your undies in a bunch! Assuming you even have em. Though there's part of me that's maybe startin' to wonder if I should take a peek just to be sure…"

"I AM SORRY MADEMOISELLE BUNNY I MUST BE GOING IF YOU WILL EXCUSE ME!" Antione promptly saluted Bunnie as though he were still a wet behind the ears cadet and nearly stumbled before rushing off to the campsite. Bunnie couldn't help but giggle like a southern bell who could only be amused — and interested — by the naive young whippersnappers, even though at eighteen, she and Antione were the same age.

"Oh Antione," muttered Bunnie. "You are just absolutely a hoot."

Bunnie considered following in Antione's footsteps and heading back to the others when she noticed out of the corner of her eye a certain robotic figure sulking like no tomorrow. Looking behind, she saw Shortfuse sitting behind a tree down on the slope, his large tail giving him away like a sore thumb. She looked towards the campsite as if wondering if this was one thing that was better left alone before deciding that of all the things she should just let be, this was without a doubt NOT one of them.

"Hey, Shortfuse! How you doin' today, sugar?" She walked over to him like a ray of sunshine, steadily moving over to its' unwilling target.

Shortfuse continued to sit down on his kiester, solid as a rock and just as silent.

"Okay, so I guess that means you're not feelin' too bad either way. Okey-dokey. Well, I'm feelin' great! Just had a nice walk with someone I'm really itchin' to get to know a bit better, about to go and have some grub, I've—"

"Still got half a hunk of metal for a body?", said Shortfuse.

Bunnie stood there for the longest of moments like a lifeless doll, only just managing to get herself moving again as the sheer thought of loathing drove her to admit what the smallest part of her had long been trying to say.

"If you wanna put it that way, sure darlin'." Nevermind that at that moment, Bunnie considered Shortfuse less of a 'darlin' and more of a dirty rotten SOB.

"Thought so. Which makes me wonder how you have anything to be happy about. I sure as hell don't."

"There's plenty of things to be happy about!It's been a great day, the sun's shining, the birds are singing, the squirrels are squirreling—"

"And in case you haven't noticed, lady, one of those squirrels is still stuck in this tin can! Kinda puts a damper on everything else, don't it?"

Bunnie's fuse was starting to get short herself. She wracked her brains, trying to come up with anything to get his mind off his current predicament. Or was it her mind she was hoping to clear? "Well, look, you must have something to be happy about. Or at least something else to think about. How's your mother doin'? Is she still on—"

"DON'T." That was all it took for Bunnie to get the message. That and the red-eyed glare of death from Shortfuse.

"Okay, okay! Sorry I asked! Why, I'm sorry I even bothered! Here I am tryin' to cheer you up and you just go and slam it all in my face! You think I don't give a crap about what they did to me?! Cause I do! More than anything! But just stewing on it and thinking about it all the time ain't gonna solve nothin'! Cause if you do, you really are gonna be stuck in that tin can! But if that's what you wanna do, then I guess there ain't nothin' else I can do."

Shortfuse sat there as empty as the tin can he made himself ought to be. Bunnie, on the other hand, couldn't help but metaphorically kick herself in the arse.

"Look, I'm sorry," said Bunnie. "That was out of line. I—"

"My mom died a year ago."

That was sudden. Bunnie couldn't help but be blown away by such a bombshell. And here he didn't seem to want to open up no more than a minute before, if that. "My stars. I'm sorry sugar. I didn't know." For what it was worth, Shortfuse kept on telling his tale as though Bunnie had never said a word, as though if he stopped now, he'd never start again.

"Course, that was after my father ran off like the dirty lowlife he is. Growing up with my dad wasn't really what you'd call sunshine and lollipops. To be fair, it wasn't a total hellhole. My mother loved me more than anything, and my Dad at least said he did. He said a lot of things. Did a lot of things too. A LOT of things. To the both of us. And if it weren't for this dirty rotten tin can, I'd have the marks to prove it."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sugar!"

"Don't. You've got nothin' to be sorry for. It was him that should've been sorry. But he never was. Got so bad that me and Mom just couldn't take it anymore. Had to get out. Be anywhere but where we were. After a while, we settled down in Mobotropolis, though I guess that giant-ass omelet's turned it into a disaster-zone by now. It was tough with just the two of us, but for a while, it didn't matter. The two of us were all we needed, and we made do. As long as she was there, everythin', would turn out OK. Should've known better. Like I said, mother died a year ago, and I didn't know a clue why or how to find the answers. Only thing I could do was whatever it took to get by. "

"And that's where Sonic comes in."

"Pretty much. I was pretty desperate by that point. Couldn't find any food, didn't have a place to sleep. Didn't know what else to do. Didn't give me the right, but when you're aching to just get a loaf of bread or one single juicy acorn, well, things look a whole lot different. But I also knew that if I wanted to make it, I had to fend for myself. Because it's a dog-eat-dog world. Next thing I knew, I was holding a hedgehog at knifepoint. Then I got bonked on the damn head. You know the rest."

"Oh, Shortfuse. Look, I'm sorry for what happened to you—"

"DON'T!", shouted Shortfuse. "Don't. The last thing I want is anyone feeling sorry for me. Besides, you had nothing to do with it."

"Oh. Ok. Well, in any case, the point is, regardless of whatever's happened to you, that's no reason to let it get you down!"

"Isn't it?" Shortfuse was completely and utterly convinced it was. "Tell me somethin', Bunnie. How are your parents doin'? Because I'm gonna bet they're still alive and kicking."

"Well, yeah. They're doin' swell. Better than ever. I think. Haven't seen them in ages. In fact, I"m not sure when I'm gonna see them again. If ever."

"And why's that?" said Shortfuse, as though he were driving towards some sort of point or another like a gunman aiming for their mark. "C'mon, I'm curious."

"Well, if you gotta know, it's because, because part of me…"

"Yeah? Go on."

"…because part of me doesn't want them to see me like this."

"Uh-huh. So let me get this straight. You think you can go off telling people that it's not really a big deal, that there are so many other things to think about and be happy about, how it doesn't really matter, but when it comes down to it, you can't trust your parents not to treat you like a freak and an outcast just for coming home with a new look? Do I even need to tell ya the definition of 'hypocrite' here?"

And for the first time, Bunnie didn't have anything to say. She thought about things to say, certainly. That it was unfair, or that he was pulling stuff out of his arse. But the truth wasn't that far from how Shortfuse described it, and even though she so desperately wanted to, she couldn't deny it.

"Still though," said Shortfuse, "you should count yourself lucky you've got parents. At least you've got folks who can give a crap about you either way. Me? I got nobody. So until your folks kick the bucket, there ain't nothin' you can do that'll make me feel better. Especially if you keep on avoiding everything."

"Avoiding everything'? I"m sorry hon, but I don't—"

"Oh please!" Shortfuse rolled his eyes around his eyes sockets, as though he were watching someone peform the worst perfromance of their lives. "You keep goin' on like sunshine and rainbows when you know it ain't true. Half of you was made into a can opener, but you keep acting like it ain't the end of the world!"

"Because it ain't!", shouted Bunnie. "There ain't no good reason to just drop it all and act like the world's a hellhole, that things can't get any better than this!"

"Oh really?! If that's the case, then tell me, 'sugar'; can you even feel anything on that arm or those legs of yours? Even so much as a warm summer breeze? Because if ya can, then I want some of whatever you're having."

Bunnie's eyes went wide, as though suddenly in the marksman's crosshairs. "Uh, not really, but—"

"And that's my point! I can't feel anything in this thing! I can't feel the warmth on my skin, the cold on my back, even what used to be my brown bushy tail, because I'm stuck in this darn prison! But you aren't much better. You can't feel anything with that arm or those legs of yours, can you? They're like deadweight. So I can't buy that not being a big deal to you."

"Oh, it is! It sure as hell is!"

"Then prove it!", said Shortfuse."

"How?! By being like you?!"

"At least I can admit things are crap!"

"But that ain't the same as dealing with, is it?!"

"Funny, I don't see you doing the same!"

"Funny, because from where I'm standin', neither are YOU!"

The two stared at each other as though they were both fearlessly staring down the bullet of a gun, both knowing that if this conversation kept up, there was only one way it was going to go. The air was practically tense, almost akin to a powder keg. One riny match would be all it would take to set it off. The only thing that could stop it is if something or another were to dampen it. And speaking of which…

"ALIENS!"

…there it was. It was loud enough for Bunnie and Shortfuse to hear it despite still being a ways away from the campground, and they knew that something or another was going on that might just require their attention. After a moment where it seemed like they were going to shoot each other with their eye sockets, they finally relented, putting away their aim-of-sights for the time being. "This ain't over," said Shortfuse. And as Shortfuse rocketed towards the campgrounds, Bunnie knew he was telling the truth.


	19. Sticks and Stone, Part 2

NOW

"ALIENS!"

Whatever had been sneaking around in the bushes lunged out of them in a flash, barreling towards Johnny like a cougar leaping for its' prey. Johnny for his part knew she was coming, and as soon she made her move batted her away with his mace, slamming her towards the ground like a baseball. The intruder quickly rebounded and gained her footing, effortlessly leaping out of a rising cage of stone summoned up by Chirps. But that leap was all it took for Sonic and Mina to come rushing in and tie her up with a couple of vines like a carpet

"Good work people!", said Sally. "Now, let's see just who we've got here."

"I'll tell ya this much," said Chirps, "she's got a spring in her step. Reminds me of the time I jumped on that giant spring to the moon. Course, that might've been just another fever dream, but still."

With their assailant now bound and flailing about on the floor as she gnawed at the vines in a desperate attempt to get free, they were all able to get a good look at her. She was an orange and brown badger, her thick, dirty, untied pigtails becoming more and more matted as she continued to roll around on the ground. But perhaps the most striking thing of all about her was that she just didn't know when to shut up.

"LEGGO' OF ME YOU ALIEN PINKO COMMIES! I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE REALLY UP TO! WELL, I'LL TELL YA SOMETHIN'! YOU'LL NEVER DELIVER THAT CRATE OF MAGIC SUPER WHISKEY TO THOSE SILLY PUTTY ANGELS NOW, YA HEAR ME?! YOU'RE ALL STOOGES OF THE GOVERNMENT AND THEY'D RATHER EAT YOU FOR BREAKFAST THEN LET YOU HAVE YOUR WAY! LITERALLY! YOU AREN'T ANY BETTER THAN THEM! AND VICE-VERSA! AND WHY YES, I'VE NEVER TAKEN ANY MEDS, WHY DO YA ASK?!"

"We never asked her if she even wanted any meds, did we?", whispered Sally to Johnny.

"Nope," whispered Johnny, "though right now, that doesn't sound like such a bad idea."

Just then, Antione arrived at the campgrounds, nearly collapsing as he ran in ragged towards Sally. "DO… NOT… WORRY… SALLY… I… uh… oh Gaea… I think I shall faint…"

And right behind him came Shortfuse and Bunny, the former flying the latter over at the former's reluctance.

"You okay, sugar?", said Bunnie to Antione.

"Never better," said Antione, as 'okay' as a worn out Coyote who had just raced his way to apparent danger could be.

"Okay," said Shortfuse, "what the hell's going on? Cause we could hear it all the way down the freaking hill. Some of us just want to spend our time doing whatever, you know?"

At seeing Shortfuse, the badger gasped as though as she had seen some lost marvel of the ancient world. "Oh Gaea! It's true! It's the silver-plated squirrel monkey of the outback! Those red eyes can stare right into your soul! Hey, do you even have a soul? I mean, I know I'm tied up and all, but I figure I might as well ask-"

"DO YOU WANNA ASK FOR A BODYBAG?!"

"Hey, not cool!", said Sonic.

"SHORTFUSE!", yelled Sally. "Watch yourself!"

"Watch what?" said Shortfuse, apparently deciding to play the role of Captain I Do Not Give Two Craps.

"Oy,' muttered Sally. "Sonic was never this bad. Look, I know it's tough on you, but to be frank, it's tough on all of us, so—"

"At last most of us aren't wearing a suit of glorified tinfoil. Though maybe you all should. Just to see what it's like."

"SHORTFUSE!", shouted Bunnie. "Lighten up, will ya?"

"That reminds me!", said Sticks. "I need a new light! My old one went out a month ago. Haven't been able to get a new one since. Living in the forest doesn't exactly pay the bills, you know?"

"YOU AREN'T HELPING!", yelled Sally.

"Well, of course I ain't helping! How can I help when I'm tied up and captured like an animal?!"

"ARE an animal!", said Tekno. "Sort of."

"And to be fair," said Johnny, "if you hadn't attacked us in the first place, you really wouldn't be in this mess.

"DON'T YOU LIE TO ME, ALIENS! I KNOW YOU WANT TO SKIN US ALL ALIVE AND WEAR OUR INTESTINES AS HATS! I JUST KNOW! Oh, and my name's Sticks by the way, just an FYI. YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!"

"What do we do with her?", said Porker.

"Skin her alive and wear her intestines as a hat!", said Chirps. If that was meant to have been a joke, no-one was laughing. "Het, somebody had to say it."

"Hey," said Sticks, "if you're gonna' mindwipe me, do it right! Get lights, cameras, things I'd never seen but still know about thanks to reasons which I don't wanna explain! If this is gonna be my last five minutes of fame, make it count!"

"That can probably be arranged…", Harvey started to say before Sally promptly him gave a soft but firm nudge.

"Look," said Sally to Sticks, "we're not going to mindwipe you. We just want to know why you attacked us in the middle of the woods like some sort of, well…"

"Animal?", said Tekno.

"Well, when you put it like that…"

"Oh, that," said Sticks. "Well, I wasn't about to let any stinking aliens try to turn my home into intergalactic fertilizer to build their exploding cosmic inter-dimensional eggplants, was I? I'M ON TO YOU!"

"Uh," said Mina, "are you sure you're alright? That is, in the head I mean?"

"Course I am!", said Sticks. "I've banged this puppy against more boulders than you can count and it still ain't broken! Why do you ask?"

"That wasn't exactly what I meant." Mina started to wonder if her own head was alright.

"'Your home'?", said Sally. "You mean you live there?"

"Course!", said Sticks. "You'd think the loincloth would've given it away by now!"

Just as she said, Sticks was wearing nothing more than a loincloth and a ragged strap of cloth covering and holding together her breasts.

"Fascinating!" Tekno's speech suddenly became that much more articulate as her interest was aroused. "You've lived here your entire life then?"

"That's for me to know and you to find out! Though yeah, I guess I have. Well, ever since I was six anyway. Or was it seven? I'm not too good at the maths. Heck of a foreign language if I ever saw one."

"That would explain how you're so fluent in Mobian. If you had been here ever since you were born, you wouldn't have been able to understand a word we've said."

"So let me get this straight," said Sally. "You thought that we were invaders—"

"ALIEN invaders," said Sticks, "make sure you get that right!"

"Uh, alien invaders trying to grow (I can't believe I'm even saying this,) exploding cosmic inter-dimensional eggplants." Sally slowly draped her palm over her furry face, wondering how she'd come to this.

"With just a dash of vinegar! Always hits the spot."

"I'm sure. Look. None of us were trying to grow whatever was you thought we were trying to grow."

"Exploding eggplants," said Sticks.

"Right. In any case, none of us were planning on doing anything that could ruin your home. That said, I suppose you do have some house guests."

"And what's that supposed to mean?! And what's a house?"

And so Sally told Sticks about what had occurred over the last few days. Of how the vile, vicious Eggman took over the sweet and innocent Mobotropolis; of how a young and valiant hero with the help of her sexy not!boyfriend saved the day! And how for the time being, Knothole Forest was where the Freedom Fighters were crashing.

"Ohhhh. So, you aren't aliens?"

"Did we ever say we were?", said Sally.

"Maybe? Though I still don't trust ya. What if you're gonna try and murder me in my sleep? Or steal my pet boomerang when you ain't lookin'? Or use your super-duper-secret-special magic to turn me into a newt!"

"A newt?!", said Harvey, incredulously as could be.

"And no, I'm not giving you that punchline!", said Sticks.

"You know," whispered Sonic to Sally, "some people say I'm a bit insufferable, but she makes me look the modicum of droll."

"Sticks," said Sally, "all we're looking for is a place to hide out from Eggman and serve as a base of operations. That's it. And we're pretty sure we've found it."

"I guess you could be on the level. But I ain't gonna let you live here without giving me something in return!"

"Dude," said Sonic, "you're tied up. Methinks you're not in any real position to be giving demands."

"For once he is right," said Antione, finally having caught his breath. "You are overpowered and outmatched. Perhaps it would be best if you simply let us be?"

"Stand down Antione," said Sally.

"Maybe she needs a laser to the face," said Shortfuse.

"NO. No, Shortfuse. Just no. Anyway, depending on what it is, we may be able to get you what you need. Just what do you want?"

"Well," said Sticks, "any other day of the week, I'd want a statue made out of muskrat teeth with my name on it, but I think I'll just settle for something shiny. Sticks likes her shinies. Come to think of it, the big angry doofus in the suit of armor is shiny. Can I have him?"

Shortfuse's hands clenched as he fumed in place, doing his best not to slip into a murderous rage and wear Stick's intestines as a hat.

Bunnie trying her best to cool down the powder keg. "Now, now, hon, there's gotta' be somethin' else you want. Somethin' that isn't an actual Mobian."

"Well, let me think. Thinking done. Oh, I know! That mongoose has a couple of really shiny looking pins in her hair! Gimme."

"But," said Mina, "but, my pins…"

"Don't worry Mina," said Sally, "I'll get you some new pins later, okay?"

"You don't understand, Sally. These pins are from my mom. I can't just give them away! Especially not to some stranger."

"Hey!", said Sticks. "I'm not a stranger! You've known me your whole life! Or at least you will once I finish that time machine I've been working on! Wooden time machines are killer!"

Harvey had enough. He took out a small silver coin from his satchel and flipped it over to Sticks, whose eyes were transfixed upon the small flying shiny as though she were a cat eyeing a piece of string. "SHINY…"

"I trust that will be sufficient?", said Harvey.

"Does that mean 'good enough'?"

"Let us roll with that, shall we?"

"Eh, okey-dokey. You got a deal! Now, if you don't mind, I'm starting to get kind of cramped. Can someone get me out of this?"

Shortfuse made aim to fire his laser straight at the vine and consequently straight through Sticks, but one stern look from Sally was enough to tell him that was a no-no. "Allow me sugar," said Bunnie. She walked over to Sticks as best she could, starting to get a handle on her balance even if it still needed a bit of work, and promptly tore the vine straight off of her person like tissue paper. "Well now, maybe I could get used to this after all!"

"Hot-cha! Free at last! Free at last! Gaea almighty, I'm free at last!"

"You do know you've only been tied up for three minutes, right?", said Porker. "If that."

"Doesn't matter, I'm FREE! And I got a shiny! Stick likes shinies."

"Just what were you planning to do with it anyway?", said Tekno. "If I may ask?"

"Simple. Drop it into the nearest river to appease the wrath of the river people! What else? I GOT MY EYE ON YOU, YOU BIG FISHY EMBARRASSMENTS!"

"Right." Sally, rubbed her forehead as she wondered just how much longer she'd have to put with little miss paranoia. "Anyway, if you need us, we'll be here, but—"

Just then, Harvey's head twitched, his eyes darting up above to something that only he seemed to be able to see. The others looked up towards the same spot, but all they saw was the green canopy of leaves covering them from above. Or at least until a small green non-Mobian bird darted straight through them and crashed headlong into the ground.

"A-HA!", said Sticks. "THERE REALLY ARE ALIENS! AND THEY'RE FALLING FROM THE SKY! QUICK, EVERYONE GET TO A SHELTER BEFORE THE UFO HITS! EVERY MOBIAN FOR THEMSELVES!"

"Sticks," yelled Sally, "calm down!"

"Sound advice," said Harvey. "Especially when this little bird is far from our enemy."

Everyone took a closer look at the bird, though amazingly, he seemed to be doing just peachy if a tad loopy. It was carrying a letter around its' neck, one addressed to Harvey specifically. "Ah, said Harvey. "I do hope it doesn't say what I expect it to say."

"Which is?", said Sonic.

Harvey opened the letter and, shock of all shocks, it said exactly what he thought it was going to say. Every moment had his attention as he scanned it for more info, and when he turned back to his colleagues, there was still no doubt that he'd been telling the truth and nothing but.

"Some most unsettling news everyone. It seems that there is some rather disturbing activity in Green Hill. It appears that a group of mercenaries has begun to mobilize for an as yet unknown purpose. They've done their best to conceal themselves, but I wrote the book on concealment, one which I've made my sure my agents have read in great measure. They've also seemed to have made camp near a small village in the heart of Green Hill, far away enough not to be noticed, but close enough so that they can strike when the time is right. We're still not sure exactly what it is they're planning, but whatever it is, it most assuredly cannot be good. And here's the best part. They have robots with them."

"Eggman." Sonic clenched his fist as though he were squeezing Eggman's big fat throat right in his grip.

"Obviously," said Sally, "we can't just let Eggman get away with whatever he's planning, but we can't just send everyone running off to deal with it. We need to keep some of us behind, both to help start things up here in Knothole as well as deal with anything Eggman tries to pull here in the Wood Zone. The Wood Zone is the heart of the kingdom, and if Eggman wants to begin taking over the rest of the island in earnest, that's where he'll need to start."

"That being the case," said Johnny, "looks to me like there's somethin' rather special in Green Hill if he's trying to pull somethin' there this early."

"I agree. We need to send in a small force. One that can get in quick and not attract too much attention, but can also deal with whatever Eggman's planning over there if they need to. We need someone who's fast—"

Just then, Sally knew just who to send, and as she looked over to Sonic, she could tell by the gleam in his eye that he was thinking the same exact thing.

"Do you even need to ask?", said Sonic.

"Probably not. Sonic, you and Mina need to head over to Green Hill. You've got the speed to get there in the time you need to and, with any luck, the power and the know-how to deal with whatever gets in your way should the need arise. Though I would prefer sending a couple more of us along just to be safe."

"I'll go," said Johnny. "I haven't seen that much action, and I'm lookin' to bust some heads. If it's alright with you."

"Permission granted. Besides, you probably know this island better than anyone. If you want to go with Sonic and Mina, I won't stop you. That just leaves one more slot open."

"And I know who's going in," said Sonic. "You left my lil' bro out of the last mission, and I ain't letting him miss this one."

"I don't know. We may not be bringing him straight into Eggman's lab, but it still might be dangerous."

"C'mon, how bad can it be? Besides, he's got the two fastest things alive with him, and even Johnny in case that's not enough. He'll be fine!"

"Famous last words. But I suppose he needs to start getting in some field experience at some point. Sonic, if you let them harm so much as one hair on his head—"

"Hey, don't worry about it! He's gonna have his big bro around! What's there to worry about?"

"Plenty. But if Mina and Johnny are looking after him, I suppose he'll be fine."

"Hey, what about me?!"

Sally smiled as though she had just put a whoopy cushion under someone's seat. "I wouldn't want them to have two babies to look after now, would I?"

"Funny." In truth, Sonic did not find this funny at all.

"Quite. Anyway, I'm going to bet we don't have much time before Eggman's goons do whatever it is they're planning to do. Get whatever you need, then get ready to move out as soon as possible. Understood?"

"Sure thing. Just let me get Tails first and we'll be off before I can say…"

* * *

"Succotash."

Sonia muttered to herself as she laid under the comforting shade of the trees. She was thinking about a great many a thing. Three of these things were life, the universe, and everything, but what was most pressing was without a doubt her father. She was never that close to him, but she had still always believed him a decent enough man at heart. But this?

Just then, her ears twitched like a cats' as they picked up on someone rustling through the grass towards her general direction. She leaned up to see just who it was, but she didn't have to. It was Manic, as she was sure it was, coming to make sure his cousin was alright. Because of course he was.

"Hey there, Sonia," said Manic. "So. How you holdin' up?"

"Lousy. Other than that, couldn't be better."

"Cuz, you can't believe what that scumbag said about him, can you?"

"That's the really damning part. I can. Or at least I'm starting to believe he could. Father was never the most honest businessman. He was always sticking his snout into just about everything. Sure, maybe he was never caught, maybe they never found any proof, but everyone knew he always had his mitts in something or another."

"Sonia, he's your father."

"I know he's my father. The same father who never came to her little girl's birthdays. The same father who never sat down and told her a bedtime story. The same father who never tucked her in, spent a smidgen of quality time with her, never went to the festival with her or tuck her in at night or call her daddy's little darling or… well, you get the idea. So why should I care?"

"Cause he's still your dad. At least you've got one."

"So do you Manic."

Manic's smile slowly turned upside down, like a bright vibrant plant gradually beginning to wilt. "Let's not talk about him, okay, Sonia?"

"Okay. Sorry about that. I know how you feel about him. Though you know, I always thought that in his own way, my dad still cared. He still gave me birthday presents. Still picked me up when I fell. Still helped me out whenever I was in trouble. But I never got the sense that he really loved me, or at least not in the way he should have. And so when I hear he's bankrolling a supervillain of all things, I'm just not sure what to think."

"At least he's still alive." Sonia and Mania looked up to see none other than Tails flying down from the sky like a helicopter, landing with enough grace and poise that it would easily earn him four stars.

"Tails!", said Sonia.

"Hey," said Manic, "how you doin', lil' buddy? Sorry we left you behind on the last mission, but what the boss says goes. Though she probably made the right call leavin' you behind anyway. No offense."

"None taken." In spite of what he just said, Tails made it clear that nearly every single offense possible had been taken and meshed together into one single big yarn of offense. Now that was a heck of an achievement. "Anyway, like I was saying, at least your father's still alive. I can't say the same for mine."

"Oh Gaea!", said Sonia. "Oh Tails, I can't believe I forgot, I'm so sorry!"

"Honestly, it's not a problem. Really."

"Glad to hear it. Still though, even if he's alive, so what? He's still going to be a distant, power-hungry SOB even if I do find him. Oh, and in case you didn't get the memo, he's apparently evil now. So there's that too."

"And I understand that. Think of it this way. If you never find your father, you'll never be able to tell him how you feel, will you?"

"Oh. Sonia had apparently never considered such a thing. "I guess not."

"Haven't you ever wanted to tell him what you think of him? To get it all out?"

"Come to think of it, yeah. Yeah, I have!"

"Don't you want to tell him what a lousy father's he been? To tell him what kind of dad he should've been?"

"HELL YEAH!"

"So are you still going to sit around in the forest and mope? Or are you going to do something?"

"You bet your two tails I'm going to do something! I'm going to find out where the heck he is and barge straight into his office and pull him back here by his coattails if I have to and even tar and feather him if it comes to it—!"

"Uh, I don't think we have to go that far."

"Eh, maybe not. Holding that SOB over a cliff by his bootstraps should be enough."

"Well," said Manic, "at least you're motivated."

"You got that right!", said Sonia. "And he's going tell me just what the hell he's doing even if it kills him! And if it doesn't, I might just do the job myself."

Just then, Sonic came rushing through the trees in a blur until he finally skidded to a stop. "Hey Tails!", said Sonic. "Oh, and nice to see you too, cuzzes'."

"Uh, nice to see you too Sonic,", said Tails. "So, have you decided what you're going to do?"

"Yup! I'm stayin' here. And I've got you to thank. Well, I guess I've got Bunnie and Antione and maybe Mina to thank too, but still. Thanks, lil' bro."

Tails was shocked. Incredibly shocked. So much so that in just a moment, he felt the need to ask with complete and utter sincerity, "Who are you and what have you done with Sonic?"

"Relax, lil' bro. It's me, really. I guess I've just kind of realized some things. And one of them's that I've been kind of a tool the last few days. Sorry about that, lil' bro."

Tails briefly considered keeping up this line of inquiry before deciding that maybe, just maybe, this was in fact his big bro. Which if true would have to be nothing short of a miracle. "No problem, big bro. So, what's up."

"You're gonna love this! Me and Mina and Johnny are heading over to Green Hill. Something's going on over there, and we're gonna find out what. And we want you to come along!"

"Me? You really mean it?"

"Course I do! I mean what I say and say what I mean! Which I guess kinda-sorta led to me being such an ass, but you get the idea!"

"And Sally doesn't have a problem with this?"

"Sort of, but she's still willing to go along with it. So, whaddya' say, lil bro?"

"I say, let's do it to it!"


	20. Green Hell, Part 1

"He loves me, he loves me not, he loves me, he loves me not…"

In front of the well in the center of the small village of Creamcheese sat none other than a pink hedgehog wearing a dress as green as an emerald, shimmering brilliantly under bright blue afternoon sky. Though in the distance, a line of clouds was steadily starting to roll in. She was busy plucking the petals off of a daisy one by one in a systematic ritual to decide whether or not one other lucky hedgehog truly loved her. Or would love her as the case would be. Her head was resting against a morbidly obese purple cat with a small non-Mobian frog atop his face and a long fishing pole always at his side. His ears twitched oh so slightly in an effort to acknowledge the outside world, but he soon chose to resume his blissful slumber.

Flying in from the north side of town came a young rabbit in a red and yellow dress who was somehow managing to stay aloft by flapping two giant ears just as large as she was, and she managed to land herself with all of the grace and poise of an expert ballerina. Floating alongside was a small blue creature with an even smaller yellow sphere floating above its' head, who seemed happy just to be with Cream.

"Hello there, Amy!", said the rabbit. "What are you…" It didn't take her long to realize just how Amy was choosing to spend her free time, and as soon as she did, she wasmorbid. "AMY! What are you doing to that poor flower?! It's already lost half of its' petals!"

"Hi Cream!", said Amy. "Sorry, can't talk right now, trying desperately to make sure I get together with my future husband to be! Can you come back later?"

"Come again?"Cream knitted here eyebrows, completely and utterly baffled.

At that moment, the large kitty cat without so much as opening an eyelid or moving a single muscle other than his mouth at long last saw fit to speak up. "She means she thinks she's found the love of her life, even if she's never met the guy. Bit hasty if you ask me."

"Hey," said Amy to the cat, "just because you've never found your one and true super special soulmate doesn't mean I can't! And I know just how I'm gonna find him!"

"How so?", said Cream.

"With this!" Amy pulled out a deck of tarot cards from her pockets, showing them off like bling to one and all. "I dabble in tarot reading every now and then. Keeps me busy when I'm not going for my next big score."

"Come again?"

"She means," said Big, "that she's trying to pass herself off as something she's not and that she's basing her life goals off of something she might as well have seen at a game of poker."

"I DID NOT MEET MY ONE TRUE LOVE THROUGH POKER!", said Amy. "OR WILL NOT, I GUESS. Maybe."

"I think I'm lost," said Cream. "What's going on exactly?"

"Don't you start." Amy growled toward the feline like a wild feral beast.

"Oh," said Cream, "please calm down Miss Amy! I didn't mean to upset you."

"Oh, don't worry about it Cream. Big just doesn't know what he's talking about."

"Eh, whatever," said Big.

"Look. All I know is that when I was performing my tarrots, I saw someone; someone in the back of my mind. Someone I'd always been waiting for. And I'm just sure it's him!"

"You mean," said Cream, "like your soulmate?"

"Yup! I saw that person in a vision and I'm sure he's just the one for me!"

"Do you know what he looks like?"

"Nope."

"Do ya know what he's actually like?" said Big. "Ya know, as a person? Because I think I know what the answer is, and you're not gonna like it."

"Oh shush!" Amy was clearly starting to be bedeviled by her worst enemy of all; reality.

"You haven't actually seen him, have you?"

"Uh, well, that is to say, uh, no. Not really. But I know someone's coming, I just know it! And when he gets here, he's gonna be mine!"

"Whatever you say." At that, Big went right back to sleep.

"I do say! And I say we're destined for each other."

"Well," said Cream, "that's very nice and all Amy, but I must get back home for my daily lessons."

"'Daily lessons?" Amy was at last momentarily jolted from her delusions of grandeur. "What kind of lessons are we talking about here?"

"Hm?" Cream wondered what the trouble was until one look of pure and utter shock on her face was enough to tell Amy that she got the memo. "Oh, no! Nothing like that! Rather, my mother is simply going to teach me more about the fine art of Chao raising."

"Oh!" Amy pointed towards the blue creature now slouching over Cream's shoulder. "You mean like Cheese there?"

"Exactly! I just love Chao! I've practically spent my entire life with them! Of course, so has my mother, which quite probably explains a lot."

"You know, you're twelve years old, Cream. Shouldn't you be doing something other than just learning how to take care of blue plush bags?"

"Don't you dare insult them that way! Although, now that you mention it, there are other things I could be doing with my time. But this is still what I love doing most!"

"Well, have fun with that. Me, I'm gonna keep on chasing the man of my dreams!"

"It's a dream alright," said Big, having woken once again from his slumber.

"Oh, you shush!"

* * *

Sonic and Mina with Tails and Johnny in tow had just rushed their way out of the Wood Zone and were now barreling straight through Green Hill. They darted over the checker-square grass, ran along the spiraling roadways placed over lakes and waterfalls, and jumped over all sorts of blocks and long gaping pits. Brown, blocky checkered hills with green, grassy checkered tops were scattered across the plains, and so were large brown and green totem poles that loomed over them like ominous specters. It was as though a rather fantastic checkers player had somehow become God and decided to make this small part of the world in his image. It was mystifying.

"We almost there?", said Sonic.

"Well," said Tails, flying along like a reed in the wind via Mobian chainlink, "at the very least, we were able to get a decent estimate of just where they might be. Not too far away from the village, but not too close. And with Johnny's knowledge of the terrain, we might just be able to find them."

"So," said Mina, racing right alongside Sonic, "you been here often, Johnny?"

"Often enough," said Johnny, carried along by Mina's sheer speed in the same vein as Tales. "Used to visit here more often though. Back when…"

"Uh, back when what?"

"It's nothin', forget I said anything."

"Okay, alright. Just figured I'd ask."

"No, it's alright. It's just not something I want to talk about. Not really."

Just then, a humongous black shadow appeared practically out of thin air, looming over the horizon. Sonic and Mina stopped in their tracks, with Tails and Johnny nearly crashing into them thanks to their momentum, though it wouldn't take them long for them to notice just why they had so completely and utterly stopped.

"Uh, guys?", said Tails. Tails pointed directly up and the rest of the group followed his example, slowly craning their necks upwards to see just what was quite literally hanging over them.

Staring them straight in the face was a massive island floating high in the sky. It was a sight to behold, and if it weren't for the fact that it was passing over them like a cloud, one could swear it was going to crash on top of them any second.

"Well," said Johnny. "That isn't something you see every day."

"Incredible!", said Tails.

"Way past cool!", said Sonic.

"Ohpleasedon'tcrashpleasedon'tcrashpleasedon'tcrash!", said Mina, seeming to forget in her bout of anxiety that she could outrun it like a roadrunner outrunning a coyote.

"To be honest," said Johnny, "I've heard something about this. Legends say there used to be a mighty civilization on Mobius in days past. Well, okay, there was more than one, but this is one a lot of people talk about, and it was somethin' else. They said they combined science and technology to create somethin' they thought was always gonna stand the test of time."

"Guess they weren't so lucky," said Sonic.

"What happened then?", said Mina.

"No-one really knows," said Johnny. "For one reason or another, it just sort of disappeared off the face of the Earth. But some say that it's never really been gone. That one small remnant still exists out there, floating over Mobius and showing herself whenever it suits her. And if the legends are true —- and if experience has taught me anything, it's that the legends are always true - then I think we probably found it."

"In any case," said Tails, "you would have to be either insane or blind to deny what we just saw up there. If nothing else, there's something out there that can't be explained by normal means. Not yet anyway."

The shadow continued moving past them, and the island followed suit. Before long, it would be out of sight and out of their hair.

"Well, that was cool, but we've gotta get moving. You ready, lil' bro?" Sonic stood looking up at the island as it steadily moved further and further out of sight, but much to his surprise and impatience, none came. "Lil' bro?"

Sonic turned around to see Tails frozen in place, almost like a statue. In fact, he had been frozen in such a way that he could have sworn he had seen this somewhere before. Sensing a hunch coming on, he looked at Johnny and Mina. Sure enough, they were just as frozen in time as Tails was. And he had an idea at just what, or rather who, was the cause.

"Hey, orange lady! Yeah, the one with the dreads! I don't got all day! You gonna show yourself or what?!"

And as if beckoned by Sonic's will and sheer stubbornness, there she was, standing right in the middle of the plains as serene as ever like the calm before the storm. However, she didn't speak, or at the very least not in anything resembling coherency. Instead, she looked straight up at the floating island frozen in time and spoke to it almost wistfully, as though remembering something she had once long forgotten.

"Born on an island in the heavens. The blood of his ancestors floats inside him. His duty is to save the flowers from evil deterioration."

"You going somewhere with this?" Sonic was quite frankly not giving a crap at this point.

"Indeed," she said, for the first time ever speaking to him directly as if breaking some sort of cardinal rule. "Sonic the Hedgehog."

"How do you know my name!? Then again, I guess you know a lot of things you shouldn't know, huh?"

"That island is indeed the one of which the Legends speak. Though I wouldn't expect you to have to deal with it for quite some time."

"I'm sure. I've just got one question. Who the hell are you?"

"A name means nothing without the proper context, but if it will ease your mind even the slightest, I shall you give you one. You may call me Tikal if you wish."

"Tikal, huh? That doesn't explain a lot."

"It doesn't, does it?" Tikal smiled as though she hadn't a care in the world.

"I guess not. Anyway I'm gonna ask again: Who the hell are you? Because that doesn't tell me bubkus, and to be honest, I'm not the most patient guy around. Though I'm working on it."

"It is such a beautiful day today, isn't it? The birds are singing as though they were all in perfect harmony, and the flowers are blooming, their radiance exuding through every pore of their being."

"You're just gonna keep on making cryptic comments as long as it suits you, aren't you?"

"If you wish to put it that way, then yes."

"So are you gonna tell me anything useful?"

"When the time is right. I can tell you this. Do you see these totem poles?"

Sonic took a quick look around. If there was anything Green Hill was known for, it was the totem pills. "Yeah. I've been through Green Hill before on my way to the Wood Zone. They're littered all throughout the place. Never really knew why."

"Did it ever occur to you just who might have built those totems?"

"Not really, no."

"Well, somebody had to have built them, didn't they?"

"Yeah, but…" And then, almost out of the blue, it hit Sonic like a ton of bricks. "Wait, you're saying…"

"I AM saying. There was a mighty civilization hundreds of years ago, correct? Why, for all we know, some of their numbers might have settled on this very spot. And if they had, some of their remnants might still be intact somewhere in this Zone."

"Like the totems?"

"Yes, and just perhaps, something more."

"'Something more'? Like what?"

"Big bro?", said Tails.

Sonic looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, there was Tails. And he was once again moving. "Tails? But if you're up and at em, then…"

He looked back towards Tikal, only to see that that like the wind, Tikal had come and gone. And so had the island, now just barely visible over the horizon before it wandered out of sight for the foreseeable future.

"You okay big bro?"

"Uh, it's nothing'." What was he supposed to say? That an orange Mobian with long dreadlocks had shown up out of nowhere and stopped all of time just to spoonfeed him cryptic information that may or may not have been helpful in the long run? He'd tell him if he felt he needed to, but right now, it might have been best to keep it close to the vest. Not that it stopped Johnny from looking at Sonic as though he were keeping secret the formula for world peace.

"If you say so," said Johnny. "Anyway, like you said, we've gotta get movin'. Less there's somethin' you wanna tell us?"

"Not really, no."

Johnny sighed in exasperation. "Alright then. Guess we'd better… hey, hold on a minute."Johnny noticed someone in the distance. She was crouching in the bushes of a rocky hill, her brown vest flapping in the wind. She saw Johnny in turn and began gesturing for them to come over, all while making sure the bushes concealed her enough so that this wasn't too apparent to any passer-by.

"You seeing what I'm seeing?", said Johnny.

"Not that you mention it," said Tails, "assuming that we're both talking about that black and white cat that seems to be gesturing towards us, I believe we are."

"Right on both counts. Way I figure it, I reckon that's probably the one who sent Harvey that note."

"Do you think we should head on over?", said Mina.

"Eh, why not?", said Sonic. "Beats just standing here. Let's do it to it!"

With both Tails and Johnny firmly in hand, they raced over the plains and past the blocky hills until they managed to make it over to miss kitty, who was now lying back in the bushes and looking over herself as though she were darn fine.

"Took you long enough," she said. She stretched herself as she got up, bending her legs and stretching her arms as though she were a cover model on playboy. "It's so hard to find good help these days.

Mina was taken aback, both appalled at this harridan's free-floating behavior and yet somehow also aroused, as though this kitty had just awoken something inside her she wasn't entirely sure she could force back down.

"I could be wrong," said Johnny, "but I reckon you're the agent that sent Harvey that note, comprende?"

"Guilty as charged." The cat whirled a lock of her long, messy black hair as though she hadn't a care. "After Robotnik scattered us to the four winds, we've been trying our best to reorganize as best we could, not that it's been easy. In any case, I was on my way over to a rendezvous when I couldn't help but overhear something peculiar." She pointed towards her large ears as if to say, 'Why yes, I AM a cat, thank you very much.' "I decided to scout around a bit, see what I could find."

"I can guess what you found," said Tails. "Some mercenaries and a gaggle of robots, right?"

"Smart kid. If you were only six years older, I might have offered you my own little rendezvous. If you know what I mean."

Tails went as red in the face as a beat. "I think I do, and that's what terrifies me."

"You really ARE smart!" Hershey giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Okay," said Sonic, "can we lay off the sexual harassment? Just a thought. And no touchy where my little bro's concerned, okay?"

"Hey," said Hershey, "I was only kidding. Mostly. Anyway, the kid's right. Though I guess he also must have just heard what Harvey no doubt told you. He also managed to send a letter back over to me with that little birdy of mine. Shame I couldn't eat him. Too useful I guess. Non-Mobian birds are so tasty."

"Uh, so. Johnny tried his best not to look even the slightest mortified. Not that he could, but it was the thought that mattered. "What do you reckon they're up to?"

"Beats me. Far as I can tell, they're looking to attack some village just a few miles from here, though as to why, I couldn't say. But I bet if we listened in on them just a bit more, we might be able to find something. You in?"

"Do we have a choice?", said Sonic. "Sides, sounds like fun! So, how we gonna do this?"

Hershey pointed to the top of the tall, wide, blocky checkered hill behind her. "What we need to do is climb to the top of that hill. I can just use my claws. These babies are strong enough to dig into solid rock, though my somewhat considerable physical prowess probably has something to do with that. The rest of you?"

"Eh, me and Mina can just run up it," said Sonic, "and Tails can fly up there. Trust me, you've gotta see it to believe it. That just leaves Johnny."

"Don't worry." Johnny reached into his pack. He pulled out a grappling hook and, after twirling it around like a lasso, promptly hurled it right up the top where it clawed straight onto the ledge. "I"m covered."

"I can see that." Hershey put a finger to her curling lips as though he had suddenly become a figure of interest. "Fascinating."

"I aim to please. Now, what say we all get this show on the road?"

* * *

The lot of them managed to reach the top in record time. Sally and Mina had raced up the hill in a flash while Tails had flown up there like a helicopter, and Hershey scaled it like a pro. In more ways than one. That just left Johnny to reach the top with his grappling hook last, though being able to climb up an entire square hill with nothing but his tools and gumption was still a heck of a feat. He wiped the sweat from his gray furry brow, though that didn't stop him from asking, "Well, what next?"

"That," whispered Hershey. Below them, up atop a rounder and much more regular looking hill were two somewhat notable individuals. On one side was a rather strong ox in red armor with a sour disposition, while on the other was a yellow hound in a bartender's outfit who seemed strangely content. They were surrounded by a cadre of dormant buzzbombers as well a variety of other badnicks. Metallic chameleons, motobugs, and a select number of troopers and swatbots, though there weren't very many of any of them. There were also a pack of Mobian wolves and canines, all equipped with cybernetic limbs and the finest weaponry money could buy, though like the bots, they were small in number. And in the midst of this gaggle of freaks, the two leaders seemed to be having a little dispute…

"I told Eggman," said the Ox. "I told him, we got this. I told him, anything comes our way, we can deal with it. And what does he do? He sends someone in to deal with it!"

"Oh, come off it, Axel," said the hound. "After all, what's so wrong with a little bit of help?"

"What's wrong is that it means the Doc doesn't trust us enough to do our job. Doesn't matter whether you like somebody or not. What matters is that you've all got each others' backs. That you can depend on them to get the job done. So sending someone else in at the least minute tells us he can't trust us to get the job done."

"Perhaps, but I'm a believer of 'the more, the merrier.' If we get some additional help, we should welcome it. It's the not the end of the world."

"Stuff it, Maw. Don't even know what someone like you is doing here anyway."

"Well, if you must know, I simply believe that the world needs a strong, firm hand to guide it. I've seen more than enough, both at home and abroad, to know that if we do nothing, this world will swallow itself, either in ten years or a thousand. And so I'm willing to help do whatever it takes to ensure this does not come to pass. I have no delusions about Eggman's' morality or lack thereof. But I do believe that he is what this world currently needs. A strong if merciless ruler that will set Mobius on the path to a glorious future of law and order, unparalleled in sheer efficiency or quality of life by any civilization that has come before. Granted, free will isn't exactly guaranteed, but what is freedom compared to safety and security?"

"Whatever. All I care about is getting paid. You give me my money, I don't care about anything else. Anyway, just when's he supposed to get here anyway?"

Just then, like a whirlwind barreling in from out of the east, a green blur rushed into the encampment and started whizzing around every single bot, mercenary, nook, and cranny, making a spectacle of himself. Axel hoisted the machinegun laying at his side and made ready to fire, though something held him back from pulling the trigger. Partly, it was because he knew he probably wouldn't be able to hit just whatever he was aiming at anyway, but also because something told him that this might be what who they were waiting for. Maw was at the ready in his own way, but he also was coming to the same conclusions.

Meanwhile, all Sonic knew was that he had another competitor. "Hey!", he whispered. "That's supposed to be my sthick!"

"Quiet Sonic!", whispered Johnny.

"I know, I know" whispered Sonic. "But he's still muscling in on my territory. 'Fastest thing alive' is MY deal!"

After having made it clear what he could do, the green blur whirred over to Axel and Maw and plopped himself right down on the checkered grass, finally slowing down as though he'd already gotten bored. "Alright," said Axel, "you've guts, I'll give you that, making a show of yourself like you own the place." He then cocked his machine gun" Now, give me one good reason not to mow you down into oblivion."

The former green blur yawned, as though he couldn't care less. "Eh, why not?", he said. "Eggboss Swifty the Shrew, at your service, bro. Can I call you bro?"

Axel slowly lowered his weapon, though not without some careful hesitation. "So you're the one Eggman said he was sending in, aren't you? You're a quick little bugger, I'll give you that. But why'd he send YOU anyway?"

The green shrew admired his long claws, as though Axel were just a footnote. "Hm? Oh yeah, that. Well, bro, didn't he tell ya? Seems there's a blue hedgehog or rodent or somethin' runnin' around. Might cause all sorts of problems or somethin' like that. So he figured, only way to deal with it was to send the only Eggboss he knew that was at the hedgehog's level."

"And that would be you, I assume?", said Maw.

"Correctamundo, bro!", said Swifty.

"How we do know you're not just a robot or something?", said Axel. "Not everybody's THAT fast. Seems pretty convenient for a superfast rodent to show up right after one pops up out of the blue if you ask me."

"Well, no-one was asking, but if you're dying to know…" Swifty then promptly hocked a loogie straight into Axel's eye, causing the former to scream with rage like a wild beast.

Mina yelped ever so slightly, making sure to cover her mouth so as not to alert the packs of goons right below her. "Sorry," she whispered.

"YOU SON OF A—"

"Hey now," said Swifty to Axel, "you wanted proof I'm real, now you've got it. Bro."

"I DIDN'T WANT IT LIKE THAT!" shouted Axel.

"Now, now," said Maw. "Best not to let this mission fall apart before it even begins, hm? Now, Swifty, exactly how much do you know about our operations here?"

"Not much. Just that you guys here are looking for something. A couple of things if I remember right."

"Ah. Then you wouldn't mind if we illuminated you."

Swifty started to tighten his black biker helmet."Actually, I would, but hey, you wanna start yappin', go ahead. I ain't gonna stop ya."

Maw raised one thin eyebrow, or at least he would have if he had them. "I suppose that's one way to put it. Very well. Let us start from the top, shall we? For starters, Doctor Eggman has detected a rather peculiar energy source in this area, one which he cannot quite put his finger on. And so part of the reason we're here is to attempt to locate that power source and figure out what exactly it is."

"Boring." Swifty looked at the bandages on his wrist as though checking the time. "And the other reason?"

"Ah," said Maw, "now that is where things start getting interesting. You haven't heard of Gerald Robotnik, have you?"

"Never heard of him Don't care to. But I'm guessing he's somehow related to our Robotnik?"

"Quite so. He just so happens to be our Robotnik's grandfather, and he was an accomplished scientist and researcher in his day. He discovered a great many things about Mobius and its' history and wrote them down in a number of journals, which our good Doctor Eggman just so happens to have on his person."

"Uh-huh." Swifty began to sharpen his long, sharp claws, as though he hadn't anything better to do.

"Anyway, Eggman was looking through one of those journals when he noticed something most interesting. As you may or may not know, there were a number of mighty civilizations on Mobius back in the day. Most assume they were mere legends, but Gerald knew better. He did as much research on these civilizations as he could, on their histories and their values and customs, as well as where they were likely to have been located. You may have passed by quite a few large totem poles on your way here. According to Gerald's notes, that is proof that one of these civilizations existed here in Green Hill long ago."

"Yeah, getting bored now. Can we just cut to the chase already?

"Impatient little upstart, aren't we? No matter. In any case, there's only one thing you need to know. One of this civilizations' customs was a ritual to their God, which is the same God that many of us Mobians still worship today: Gaea."

Johnny's ears perked up at that. "Gaea?", he whispered, as if in a strange sort of reverence. Still, that would have to wait.

"However," continued Maw, "Gaea also had a dark side, and this was what this civilization, or at least part of it, sought to appeal to. In a certain spot in Green Hill, they would take a number of victims, both willing and unwilling, and slaughter them under the moonlight. Though if push came to shove, already mutilated corpses under the sunlight would be nearly as suitable. Though not as."

Sonic and the rest of his entourage were horrified, as though they had just uncovered some unspeakable atrocity. "That does it!", whispered Sonic. "We can't sit around here any longer, we need to—"

"Hold on Sonic!", whispered Tails. "I know it sounds bad, but we can't go rushing in without a plan."

"Kid's right," whispered Johnny, "much as I hate to say it. But we are NOT letting these SOB's walk off and go murder who knows how many people."

"I'm not saying we should. But we still don't know the whole picture. Let's just wait a little bit longer."

"This IS getting interesting," whispered Swifty. "So, what did they get out of this?"

"According to the legends," said Maw, "they gained vastly extended lifespans and incredible magical powers. Now, Doctor Eggman, of course, doesn't fully believe in these myths and superstitions, but that doesn't mean he isn't willing to give them a shot."

"Sounds like my kind of fun."

"Well, it'll have to be seen if you even get to have any 'fun.' You see, we've already sent a force out to round up some not so willing sacrifices at a small village off to the south. 'Creamcheese Village,' was it? In any event, we're ready to move in at a moment's notice, but if all goes according to plan, we won't have to." Maw's wide maw was grinning from ear to ear as if in ecstasy. "Now, as for the fine details…"

Mina's mouth was practically wide open in shock, and the others weren't faring much better. "Oh no!", she whispered. "We can't just sit here! We've got to do something!"

"Damn right," whispered Sonic. "I'm done sitting around. Let's do it to it!"

"Agreed," whispered Tails, "but we still need a plan."

"Right," whispered Johnny. "Mina, you go to the village and try and warn them. With any luck, you can get them out in time, but if not, just hold out best you can. Sonic, we'll need you here to take out that Swifty fella. Looks like a real nasty piece of work, so be careful with him."

"Careful shareful," whispered Sonic, "I'll be fine."

"Just don't do anything reckless," whispered Johnny. "Now, that just leaves me, Tails, and Hershey to handle everyone else here. Hershey, just how strong are you?"

Hershey sunk her clawed paw into the ground, leaving a small paw-shaped half-crater in its' midst. "Does that answer your question?"

"Right," whispered Johnny, "so at least we've got one powerhouse with us. Honestly though, if I knew just what we were up against, I would've brought Rotor or Shortfuse along. Anyway, we'll have to do. If only we had something to use for a distraction…"

Hershey slowly and suggestively as possible removed a smoke pellet from her belt as though she were removing a pair of undergarments. "Will this help, big boy?"

"If that's what I think it is," whispered Johnny, "then definitely. Hey, do you've got a laser blaster on you?"

Hershey reached to her side, loosening her blaster much the same way she did the smoke bomb. "How was that?"

"Alright, hand that over to Tails, will you? Tails, I hate to ask, but do you know how to use one of these things?"

"Well, in theory," whispered Tails, "but-"

Johnny pressed it into his hands. "Good, cause you're gonna need it. Right. Smoke pellet first, then everybody goes all out. Sonic, you go for the shrew. Mina, head south pronto. Everybody ready?"

"Yeah, ready," whispered Sonic, starting to grow impatient as though he were a petulant toddler. "Can we just go already?"

Meanwhile, down below, Maw and the others seemed just about to get to business. "So," said Maw, "any other questions?"

"Yeah," said Swifty, "I've got one. When are we gonna get some action?"

Just then, a small smoke pellet lobbed like a fastball hurtled towards the ground straight in front of Swifty's feet. "Uh, what now?" Upon impact, it broke open, unleashing a plume of smoke that rushed out like a vengeful spirit and threatened to engulf the entire encampment in short order.

"Dammit!" said Axel. "We're under attack! We're…" And yet, all he could do was practically hack his up lungs as he did his best to cover his mouth and protect himself from the onslaught of smoke. Maw was having some trouble as well. Even some of the robots seemed to stumble about in confusion, the smoke obscuring their vision and messing with their sensors.

"Now we're talking!", said Sonic.

"Right," said Johnny. "Talkin's over. Everybody, let's do it to it!"


	21. Green Hell, Part 2

"Right. Time to get in some target practice!"

Having plucked all of the petals out of that poor daisy like plucking out the feathers of a scared and confused chicken, Amy, still next to the well, decided it was time to change gears a bit. There was a brown wrapped package at her side. She opened it up as though she were digging through to a nice tasty sandwich, though what was actually in the package was anything but. It was a big honking crossbow, and all Amy could do was oggle it with a sort of perverse glee.

"Do ya really to keep hauling that thing around with ya every day?", said Big. "It's kind of creepy if ya stop and think about it."

"Oh," said Amy, "like you haul that fishing rod with you everywhere you go? Yeah, nothing fishy there."

Big tilted his head upward as if Amy had finally said something truly worthy of his attention. "Hey, don't diss the rod. Me and her go a long way back."

Amy hoisted up her crossbow as though she were a world-class expert. "Well, I guess you could say it's the same for me and this crossbow. I'd had it with me for as long as I could hold it."

"Again. Creepy."

"Oh, you hush. Besides, it's not like I wanted it in the first place. My mother's an expert archer. At every single archery contest at the Acorn Kingdom festival, she's gotten a gold medal every time. Come to think of it, I'm kind of surprised she's not back yet. But whatever, the point is, she's drilled those same skills into me since I could pick up a bow. Though to be honest, the crossbow's more my cup of tea."

"So your mother's an archery nut. I get that. Question is, what's your attachment to it?"

"Well, if it weren't for my mother, I guess I wouldn't care for it all, but as long as I've got it, I'm not just gonna let it go. And besides, at sixteen, a girl's gotta protect herself."

"Good enough for me." Big leaning his head back down on the long checkered grass as though he could not give a crap.

"Now, let's see what we've got here." Am scanned the horizons, searching for a suitable target like a marksman searching for prey. She then noticed an apple hanging from a tree off to the side of the dirt road that ran throughout the village. She took aim, fired, and with one bolt, the stem was cut clean through, and the apple fell straight down to the tall green grass.

"Perfect!", said Amy.

"Glad you think so. Me, I'm starving." Still laying down on the ground, Big cast the line from his rod before it proceeded to reel about like a mad serpent. It landed squarely on the apple, its' hook sinking in like a serpents' tooth. Big then pulled the rod up with a flick of his wrist, and the line with the apple in tow rebounded straight back towards him. With another flick, the hook rescinded its' hold on the apple, and it fell straight into Big's free hand.

"Wow. You are GOOD. And lazy. Mostly lazy."

"And proud of it." Big scarfed down his apple with little to no effort, like a starving pig.

"You're absolutely disgusting when you're worfing those down, you know that right? Anyway, let's see what else we've got." She looked back into the crosshairs, seeing if she could see anything else for her to have some decent practice on. Not seeing anything in your her immediate vicinity, she instead looked towards the road leading out of the village, wondering if there were anything outside the confines of Creamcheese that would suit her purposes.

She didn't have to go far. At first, she swore she must have been hallucinating, but after blinking and rubbing her eyes, she knew this wasn't a hoax. In the distance, there was a yellow-furred, purple-haired mongoose running straight towards her. No, not just running; she was darting towards them, faster than anything this side of Creamcheese. Whatever this was, it probably wasn't something she could or even should shoot. And as it grew ever closer, going from being ten miles away to nine in the blink of an eye, she knew there was only one thing to do it. And that was get the heck out of the way.

She leaped aside as though diving out of the way of a speeding wagon, which turned out to be best. In seconds, Mina Mongoose barreled straight into town, skidding to a stop before she nearly tumbled into the well like Jack and Jill. She panted as though she'd just run the entire Mobius Olympic Circuit, pulling up the well's bucket and glugging down a drink as quick as she could, which as it turned out was very quick indeed.

"Oh Gaea!" Mina was a tad out of breath but managed to steady herself. "I made it! Somehow! I think! Good Gaea, I'm thirsty!" She took another drink and gulped it down like a fish,before noticing a couple of pairs of wide-eyed peepers staring straight at her.

"Uh," said Big, "you okay lady? You seem awfully tired. Honestly, you look like you just ran straight from here to Gigapolis."

"Uh, not quite." Mina was still panting, but was rapidly starting to get over it. "Listen! You all need to, I don't know, get out of here now or summon the militia or SOMETHING, cause they're coming! And they'll be here any minute!"

"Who's coming?", said Amy. "And why do you look like a pop star?"

Just then, they could hear a low sound of motors and roars from the north. Mina, Amy, and Big all looked out towards the village entryway. In the distance, there was a pack of wolves and hounds with cybernetic limbs all riding motobugs, with a group of buzzbombers buzzing in the air alongside them. They looked like something out of some post-apocalyptic fantasy, and they meant business. And all Mina could say was, "Oh crud."

* * *

"Everybody, let's do it to it!"

Clasping their hands to their mouths like makeshift gasmasks, (with Johnny using the collar of his jacket in his case,) Sonic and co were off. Tails flew down over the hill while Sonic raced down like a bullet. Johnny grabbed onto Sonic and dropped himself off once they reached the ground while Hershey just took a leap of faith and landed gracefully on her feet. In short order, they were all safe and sound in the encampment, and all ready for action.

Johnny went to work disabling the robots and bashing some mercs senseless with his mace. It wasn't quite strong enough to smash the bots to bits, (something he'd have to work on,) but as long as he hit them in just the right spots, it was enough to smash in their circuity and render them inert. It was better than nothing, and it was more than enough to whack away the mercs while hopping around their laser fire.

Tails meanwhile flew about the encampment, raining down death from above and decimating robots left and right with his laster blaster, aiming for the head when possible and the center if not. The buzzbombers fired away at the lot of them, and so did the odd Swatbot, but the smoke managed to obscure their aim.

Tails knew how to operate in obscurity, his home being one of the foggiest places you could imagine. In this environment, here and now, he was an expert. And Johnny, well, bashing bots' brain never really took much in the way of accuracy to pull off, did it? It was like shooting fish in a barrel. As each badnik got bashed, a cute cuddly animal popped out of a small hole as though they were being fired out of an escape hatch before scampering or soaring off to parts unknown, grateful for Robotnik wanting to make sure his fuel source was left unharmed.

Hershey had a different agenda. Coughing their lungs out as though they had just inhaled a cigar, Axel and Maw were down for the count, but it wouldn't last, and Hershey knew it. If she and the others were going to get their feet in the door, it had to be now. And she knew just how to do it.

She lept over to the coughing and near stumbling Axel. She would have lifted his head back to start with and whisper sweet nothings into his ear, but with her left hand busy covering her mouth, she'd have to skip straight to step two. Step two involving sinking her claws straight into his eye sockets and gouging his eyes out as she went medieval on his arse. He let out a deafening scream which only served to make him inhale that much more smoke like a floating whale.

Maw would have cried out for Axel, but with some of that smoke still in the air, that wasn't an option. Nor could he show what he could really do for that matter. With nothing else to show for it, Axel toppled over like a mighty piece of freshly cut lumber and was promptly out like a light.

That just left Sonic. Sonic was on Swifty just as he saw the whites of his eyes, aiming for the groin with such a swift kick to the nards that if it had hit, it would have no doubt have gone in history as one of the most glorious kicks to the groin ever to be seen. Sadly, this was not to be. Swifty dodged his attack like a blur and struck back with one clawed swipe of his own, which Sonic managed just barely to move his body around.

This started something of a pattern. Sonic struck back, and Swifty dodged. Swifty struck back, and Sonic dodged. Thus began a rapid-fire series of dodges and blows enacted at such dizzying speeds that the only way to keep track of it all would be if one were the fastest bookkeeper alive, and even that might be a stretch. And after one last block, Swifty finally had enough.

"Okay, okay, time out!" Swifty's voice was somewhat muffled underneath the hand covering his mouth, but Sonic managed to make him out just fine . "Doing things like this ain't gonna get us anywhere. What say we take this to somewhere we can really stretch our legs? Savvy?"

"Fine by me," said Sonic, his hand covering his own mouth. And besides, maybe it would keep Swifty out of everyone's hair. The two of them raced off into the plains, and blew away the plumes of smoke that had engulfed the area in the process. The smoke had cleared, and the result was a horde of bots and mercs smashed or otherwise rendered helpless, with just one Eggboss standing.

"Face it fella," said Johnny to Maw. "You're done. Now, why don't you come along quietly? No-one else has got to get hurt. We understand each other?"

Maw glanced at the fallen Axel, taking care not to gaze too much upon his countenance. Strangely enough, it seemed less to do with being disgusted by his marred visage, and more because he couldn't care even to give him the time of day. Whatever the reason, Maw didn't seem phased in the least.

"Not exactly. You see, I'm not quite like my good friend Axel here. True, part of the reason for his rather swift defeat was no doubt due to your rather impromptu assault, which I will admit is worthy of applause. But even if you hadn't so handily disposed of him, compared to Axel, I am simply in a different class."

"Guys," said Tails, "careful. Something about him just isn't right."

"He's right," said Hershey. Something's up."

"You try anything," said Johnny to Maw, "you're a dead Mobian, you know that right?"

"So you say," said Maw. "But as I was saying, myself and Axel are worlds apart. Allow me to show you why." And as Maw as opened his maw, Johnny and the others had a sinking feeling they were about find out.

* * *

"Oh Gaea oh Gaea oh Gaea!"

Mina stood in place like a tentpole, her body vibrating at the speed of sound as though she were having a nervous breakdown. Which she may have well been. "WhatamIgonnadowhatIamgonnanonoNOGETYOURSELFTOGETHERMINAGETYOURSELF TOGETHER GET yourself together…"

She finally managed to speed herself and calm herself back down to the point where Amy and Big weren't wondering whether or not she was having a supersonic conniption. "Hey, you okay lady?", said Big.

"Uh, yeah, yeah, fine. Never better. Okay, not really, but that's not important! See those guys off in the distance? They're gonna be here in just a few minutes, maybe sooner! I tried to warn you guys, but, I don't know, I guess they just had too much headway!"

"Warn us about what?", said Amy.

"Look, I don't have time to explain! I mean, I do, but that's because I'm the second fastest thing alive and you probably wouldn't be able to understand me because I'd be a motor mouth and LOOK. Bad people are coming to try and capture or maybe even kill you, and we don't have much time before they get here! I don't know if we can get you all out of here fast enough and far enough, but we've gotta do something!"

"So wait a minute. There's a bunch of guys coming, right? And they're gonna kill us for whatever reason, right?"

"Yeah. Something about some blood ritual or something. And a power-source too."

"Oh Gaea! We've gotta get out of here! We've all gotta get out of here!"

"No can do," said Big, scanning the horizon. "Those guys are riding some sort of fancy machines or whatever. So whatever we do, they'll just catch us. We wouldn't make it five minutes out there, maybe not even that."

"I'd take you all out of here myself," said Mina, "but depending on just how many of you there are, I don't know if I can."

"So that settles it. We gotta fight."

"Oh Gaea," said Amy.

"Hey Amy," said Bif, "there's one thing you can do. See that bell up there, in the town watchtower?"

Amy looked up where Big was pointing, and she knew just what he was pointing at. Near the village entrance, there was a tall, narrow wooden tower, reaching higher than any other structure in the village. And at the top was a large bell, shining gold in all its' radiance.

"You know what I'm getting at, right?", said Big.

"Oh! Yeah, that'll work!"

"What'll work?", said Mina.

"Just watch!" Amy began to feel ever more confident, like a frightened young damsel who was finally gaining the courage to fight back against her mustache twirling oppressors. She aimed her crossbow straight at the bell, readied herself, and fired. The bolt struck the bell dead-on like a bullseye, sending it reeling back and forth, back and forth, and letting out its' loud banging rings for all to hear.

In an instant, everyone and their mothers were scrambling out of their homes and their gardens and wherever else to the village center, and in that moment, Mina had her answer. It also had an effect on the incoming mercs. In just seconds after the bell rang, they stopped in their tracks, no doubt wondering just what that sound was and if the villagers had seen them. It likely wouldn't stop them for long, but it might have just given the villager enough time to plot a proper course of action.

Children and shopkeepers and parents and near everyone else were gathered in the village center wondering just what the reason for the commotion was until, at last, the portly mayor in his luxurious suit and tophat finally arrived, followed by the town militia like a herd following their shepherd. "Make way, make way!", he said, doing his best to get to the center of the crowd. "Everyone! Everyone! Please, calm yourselves! CALM YOURSELVES! Now, who had the gall to ring that bell? And they had better have a good reason."

"Uh, I think I can explain ." Mina stepped towards the center of the crowd in a flash.

"And just who are you, miss…"

"Uh, Mina Mongoose. Now look, normally, this wouldn't be easy to believe, but, well…" Mina pointed towards the village entrance and into the distance, and sure enough, there were the mercs and bots, still conversing about just what to do next. "…yeah. See, these guys are planning on attacking you guys. They want to capture or kill you or who knows what. And yeah, I know I just showed up and you don't have a lot of reason to believe me, and I swear I'll tell you anything you want to know, but for now, we've gotta do what we can to save everyone! Please?"

The mayor stroked his bushy mustache, the rest of the town conversing and whispering amongst themselves like a herd unsure of whether or not someone was hunting them. While they were busy determining whether or not there was a chance they could have their heads lopped off, Cream came flying in via her two big fluffy ears, floating on the wind and flapping them like a seagull if necessary and landed right next to Amy with her usual skill and grace. "Amy?", said Cream. "I was waiting for my mother to begin my lessons when the bell rang. Just what is going on?"

"Honestly," said Amy, "I don't know. Just sit tight for now, okay?"

"All I know is this," said the Mayor. "A most curious stranger has wandered into our village and told us that a group of marauders and bandits are out to slit our throats. A very bold claim. One that under normal circumstances I would be most inclined to disbelieve. However," he said, pointing towards the mercenaries in the distance, "at the very least, there IS a most unruly sort out there that is most likely coming straight towards our village, but we don't know that for certain, do we?"

Amy wasn't quite sure just what to do. In fact, she wasn't quite sure of anything. But she did know one thing. And that was that, if nothing else, she had to do something. She stepped forward, waving awkwardly like a speaker stepping onto a grand stage with nothing on but her underwear, doing her best not to stumble back whence she came. "Uh, if it helps, it wasn't Mina who rang that bell. It was me."

"You, Miss Rose?!", said the Mayor. "Whatever reason for?!"

"Well, because at the time, I honestly believed she was telling the truth. Or at least that there wasn't any real reason not believe her. I didn't think we could risk taking that chance. Now look, maybe it isn't my place to say, but even if for whatever reason she's not telling the truth, it's not going to do much harm to take her at her word, is it? Besides, what reason does she have to lie to you about this? I think you should give her a chance, if only because there's no reason not to."

The mayor looked sternly at Amy as though she had just nearly crossed some invisible line that she should never have crossed, but it wasn't long before he turned his gaze away. "I suppose we can't take the chance, can we? Everyone, we've heard what these two have to say, and for better or worse, we can't risk that they're not telling the truth. Everyone who cannot fight, return to your homes and barricade the doors. Keep something on hand to protect yourselves if necessary. He then spoke intently to the burly group of musket-wielding Mobians who made up the town militia. "And everyone who can, be ready to stand your ground."

As most everyone else retreated back to their homes like rabbits hopping away to their hideyholes, Big had something to say. "Uh, yeah, sorry , but I don't know if that's gonna cut it. I don't know about you, but even at this distance, I can tell you, these guys are hardcore killers. You fight these guys head on with just your ragtag band of idjits and you won't stand a chance."

"Oh really now?" The mayor was seriously beginning to wonder who had died and made Big the mayor instead. "And I suppose you can think of something better?"

"Uh," said Amy, "I don't know what Big had in mind, and maybe it's not my place to speak out, but I think what we need to do is a sneak attack. Hide out in our homes and the bushes, and when they all come into the middle of the village, WHAMMO! Pincer attack for the win! They won't even know what hit em!" She punched her fist into her open palm, effectively illustrating her point.

"Rather resourceful for a sixteen year old"

"Well, my Dad WAS the head of the town militia before he broke his leg on that unicycle or whatever he was trying to cook up. Figures I would've learned a thing or two from him."

"Quite." The mayor finally began to come around as though he were having a slow but sure about face. "You aren't too bad yourself. For a girl."

"Uh, thanks?" Amy wasn't sure whether to feel congratulated or insulted.

"Hey," said Big, "you did good kid. You did real good."

"Oh," said Amy. "Thanks Big."

"Right," said the Mayor. "Everyone who can fight, hide yourselves in the houses along the main pathway. Someone will keep watch from the watchtower. When they give the signal, let them have it. Understood?"

All of the militia and those few other townsfolk who could still fight regardless raised their arms and shouted 'AY!' in unison, though not so loudly that the mercs could hear them from several miles away. That would just be uncourteous. They began to hurry away and duck into their homes, making sure that they didn't leave so much as a trace behind. "Now," said the Mayor, "someone needs to give the signal. Let's see here…"

"Uh," said Mina, "if you want, I could do it. Really, no problem."

"Well," said the Mayor, "you did warn us about the incoming band of marauders, but this is an important part of 's plan, and you are still a newcomer to this village. Are you sure you are up to to the task?"

"Uh, yeah, I think so. Besides, I've got something most watchmen don't got." She then ran around the Mayor in circles, soon moving so fast that one could almost swear the Mayor was being surrounded by the borders of a yellow happy face. He even started to become carried away into the air as though lifted up by a cyclone, but luckily for him, Mina stopped dead in her tracks before he reached more than a foot. "Uh, sorry about that. So, does that answer your question?"

"I believe so." The Mayor was almost unsure if he could truly believe so, but he was never one to doubt what he saw straight in front of him. "I've heard of this sort of power. There are those born with special abilities, far beyond that of their fellow Mobians. I suppose you are just one such individual."

"Yeah," said Big, "I'm sure, but we don't got the time to deal with semantics here. Lookit!" He pointed towards the mercenaries. After a moment, they at last decided to get a move on and were once again headed straight this way.

"Right," said the Mayor. "Amy, you come with me. Big, I don't know that much about you, but I do know you have some peculiar talents of your own. Would you care to assist us?"

"Been planning on it from the start. Still can't say it's second nature, to be honest."

The Mayor then turned to Amy and Cream. "You two, come with me. Miss Rose, I thank you for your help, but you are still not even a grown woman. The both of you are coming to my house, where I can keep an eye on the both of you. And keep you safe. I'll explain it to your parents afterward, don't you worry. Assuming we survive this."

Cream gulped as though she had heard the Mayor, declare a death sentence, and but she did her best to stifle it, wanting nothing more than to prove there was still hope.

"Alright, but I'm still keeping this on me," said Amy, hefting her crossbow over her shoulder. "It's a good plan, but, well, things happen."

"Indeed. Your father taught you well. Come along then. And let us hope that things proceed better than we fear they will."

* * *

"Get those quills out of my face!"

Like a mighty gale, Sonic and Swifty continued to rage across the checkered landscape like two mighty locomotives who just didn't know when to quit. By this point, the whole affair devolved into sort of rhythm; punch, dodge, swipe, dodge, punch, dodge, with neither of them scoring a hit. And how could they? They were like two equal but opposite forces of nature, neither of them willing to give an inch even if doing so was the only way to move forward. And as if the both of them collective epiphany, they stopped dead in their tracks, glaring at each from a good several feet away as though a once mighty hurricane could still regain its' potency at any minute.

They were both breathing heavy and raggid, like two near winded boxers who still couldn't afford to let their guard down for an instant. And this in spite of neither of them actually landing a punch. The tension in the air was so thick, you could cut it with a spoon, much less a knife. And yet, despite this, one of them still had the gall to treat this as though it were merely Tuesday.

"You know," said Swifty, "I gotta say, this wasn't what I was expecting."

"What," said Sonic, "you seriously didn't think I was the fastest thing alive? Shows what you know."

"No, bro. Mind if I call you bro? No, see, what I mean is, I didn't think you'd be so soft!"

"'Soft'?"

"Hey bro, I'm just telling it like it is, you know?" Swifty started to fiddle with the bandages on his wrists. "See, here I am trying to tear into you with everything I've got, but here you are pulling your punches. Hell, that's the problem right there. You're PUNCHING. You've got those rad quills of yours, but you ain't using them! What gives?"

Sonic stuck a finger into his ear and rubbed it around as though there must have been something stuck in there because either he had just gone insane, hard of hearing, or both. "Are you nuts?!", said Sonic. "I'd slice you into ribbons! Badniks and SWATbots are one thing, but—"

"You don't get it. See, in this world, there are only two kinds of people; those willing do whatever they've gotta do to get by, and those who won't. I'm willing to tear YOU into ribbons with these claws of mine if it means doing what I need to do. Can you say the same?"

"HELL no! And I don't want to! I"m here because I want to save people, not murder them!"

"Fine by me. Doesn't matter to me what you do as long as you've got the guts to carry it out. Cause the truth is, one of these days, you're gonna run into somebody you can't just move around or get out of the way of. Someone who won't stop until someone else's guts is splattered on the pavement. And if you really wanna save people, you might just end up having to end some lives in order to save lives. But as far as I can see, ya just don't got what it takes."

"Okay, that's it. Done talking now."

"So, you finally gonna show me what you got?"

Sonic gave Swifty a low, stern glare of indignation; as though he were about to shove every single inane word he spouted right up his arse. And all Swifty could do was grin in wild anticipation. The two stood on the plain, their knees bent, the tension charging like static electricity throughout the air until, in a flash of green and blue, they were off.

* * *

"Get ready people! He's up to somethin'!"

Johnny, Tails, and Hershey stood their ground as Maw opened up now gaping, well, maw. It was lined with rows of sharp jagged teeth, but more than that, there seemed to be a sort of blue emitter straight in the back of his throat. And it was glowing.

"EVERYBODY," yelled Tails, "GET DOWN!" And down they did. Out of Maw's maw came a horizontal swath of bright white energy that vaporized everything it came across. It shot straight through the hill behind them, and as Maw moved his maw, the blast of energy moved with it cutting an entire line straight through the hill and bringing it crashing down.

"TAKE COVER!" Johnny and the others scrambled out of the way as quickly as they could before it came toppling down over the plains. Maw began to massage his throat as if letting that thing loose had taken more of a burden than he let on, but he did his best not to show it. But his best wasn't good enough.

"Hey," whispered Tails to Johnny and Hershey, "guys! I think I know how to beat him! He must be using some sort advanced tech placed in his throat by Eggman, and every time he uses it, it takes his toll. If we can either wear it out or irritate it enough in some way, we might stand a chance!"

"That's good," whispered Johnny, "because our chances of going up against that thing are mighty slim."

"Are you all quite finished?", said Maw. "In any case, I do believe you know just what you're up against."

"Actually, we do," said Tails. "Thanks!"

Maw couldn't help but wonder if Tails had been touched in the head. "Are you quite alright?"

"Better than ever."

"If you say so. I wouldn't want to best my foes knowing it wasn't a fair fight, would I? Though I guess it isn't much of a fight at this point, is it?"

"I wouldn't be so sure of that."

"Interesting. Very well. If that's what you believe, then you'd better show me, haven't you?" Maw opened up his mouth again, letting loose another blast straight at their necks. The lot of them ducked, barely managing to avoid the blast in time despite their best efforts. Maw quickly massaged his throat again, his eyes beginning to water just slightly. If he didn't finish this up quick, there was a chance he wouldn't be using that throat of his for much longer, something Tails was quick to notice.

"Very well," said Maw. "Time to end this sooner than later, wouldn't you say?" He then slowly opened his gaping maw like the big bad wolf, a bright swirling light forming within it that, if left unchecked, could quite possibly swallow them all up in seconds. But Maw was just one second too late. Seizing his chance, Tails fired his blaster straight into the light in Maw's mouth. Maw clamped his mouth tight before letting out a mighty belch accompanied by a spewing of bright white energy, almost as though he had an ulcer.

"Great job Tails!", said Johnny. "Okay people! Move in while we've got the chance! Hit him with everything you've got!" Hershey released her claws while Johnny readied his mace, and Tails set his blasters' setting to stun. With Johnny and Hershey leaping forward and Tails flying in from above like bunnies and cats from hell, it seemed like this was the end for Maw.

And one furious glare of death was enough to convince them otherwise.


	22. Green Hell, Part 3

"Okay, where the hell are they?"

After having a quick little pow-wow, the mercs had finally arrived at the village. In the front was a large bear with thick goggles over his face and a pair of tassels affixed to a shiny badge on his chest, and as he stepped down from his motobug with his hulking cybernetic legs, he noticed one particularly egregious fact.

"Uh, hey, guys? There's supposed to be people here, right?"

"Yeah," said one of the other mercs as he and the rest stepped down from their motobugs in turn. "Why do ya ask?"

"In that case,' said the bear, "where's the people?!"

The mercs scratched their heads and started to looked around as though they hadn't a brain between them before starting to slowly trawl down the central pathway and readying their weapons, with the only two swatbots staying in the back as backup. "They've gotta be here somewhere," said the mercs. "The bosses ain't gonna be happy if we come back empty handed."

"Good," said the bear. "Better be prepared." He looked up at the buzzbombers, flying high above as they waited for their order. He whispered into a small receiver hidden in his ear, so softly only they could hear, and as he did, the buzzbombers, flew back into the plains. "Backup," he whispered to the mercs. "We fail, they can finish up. I'm not THAT stupid. Anyway, let's get moving."

As they started to step into the heart of the village, a harsh beep started to sound out from bear's satchel. "Oh, wait a minute! I remember this part!" He then reached into the satchel and took out a small handheld computer. On the screen was a large arrow pointing north, straight into the largest and most pristine house right in the middle of town. In other words, the mayor's residence.

"This must be that powersource they were talking about!", said the bear. "Which means it's gotta be in one of the houses!"

"Say," said another merc, "if the powersource in the houses, you don't think…"

"…that people are in the houses!", said the bear.

And then all hell broke loose.

Out of the windows of every single house on the path came a hail of bullets breaking through the glass and nailing a good third of the mercs right in the kisser. Even cybernetics weren't much good when you had a bullet stuck in your head. Out of all of them, only the bear and a few other mercs were left standing, and seeing as they were still bleeding somewhat profusely, they tried their best to regroup with the bulk of the mercenaries in the back and launch a counteroffensive. Only to see a yellow mongoose standing behind the lot of them, right in front of the village entrance. She stood strong and proud, with just the slightest quiver of fear portraying her.

"Don't take another step!", she said. "Please. Just stay where you are! And, uh, we won't have to hurt you! I think."

"This has gotta be a joke!". The bear clutched his side in laughter as though he were trying to stop a dam breaking through.

"If she's a joke," said a voice from the front, "then I'm the punchline." The mercs then looked back towards the center of the village. Standing dead center in front of the well was Big the Cat. "Now, I'm not one for throwing my weight around, pun intended, but I'll tell ya this much. That was just a warm-up. You don't agree to leave now, well, I can't say I didn't warn ya. And keep in mind, we've still got a fresh round of gunfire ready for you if you much as take a step towards me. Course, I don't advocate violence, but if that's how you're gonna play it, then you can't blame us for doin' the same."

"Oh yeah? And just why I am supposed to listen to the two of you anyway?"

Big lazily looked at the bear as though he couldn't be serious. And so as if to prove his case, Big took hold of a rather thick tree growing next to the wall and ripped it straight out of the ground like he was pulling weeds, and subsequently bandied it about as though it were just a noticeably large club. And in turn, the bear began to metaphorically crap himself.

"Hey!", said one of the mercs. "We've got guns. He don't. What the hell are we afraid of?!"

"Oh, I don't think you wanna do that. You'll just make me and Froggy mad. I don't like being mad. And I don't think you'll like it either." Big then slammed his tree into the ground like a mighty craftsman swinging down his hammer, leaving the mercs untouched but no less nervous.

"What do we do boss?", said another merc to the bear. "You're the Egg Foreman here. Personally, I say we we just waste the lot of them."

"They've already wasted some of us," said the Foreman. "But if we go back emptyhanded, Axel and Sleet will waste the rest of us."

"Uh, so," said Mina, "you guys gonna take off already or what?"

Silence spread across the gang of mercs like some sort of enchantment, as though they couldn't bring themselves to speak so much as one syllable or move a single muscle. The air was tense and growing tenser. And yet, maybe, just maybe, it was possible that they would do the smart and sensible thing and—

"SCREW THIS!"

It was like lighting a powderkeg. One of the mercs opened fire on Big, not that it did much. The laser beamed straight into him, but other than singe his fur a tad, it might as well have just given him a slight case of irritation. "That tickles," he said. Not that it mattered. The other mercs and the two swatbots all opened fire followed by the town militia leaping and darting and rolling out of the houses and doing the same, and the whole scenario quickly devolved into a bloodbath.

"HELL!", shouted Big. He lobbed his tree over at the mercs, scattering them and wounding a few of them, but one single tree just wasn't going to do much against the lot of them. And by the time that tree reached the grass, three mercs and a Swatbot had taken a shot to the head with the same body count for the militia. "DAMN!"

"NO!" Mina tried to rush and seize the blasters out of a mercs' hand as she saw in a comic once, but his cybernetic grip was too strong. Apparently, this wasn't a comicbook.

"GETOFFAME!", said the merc.

"GOLDARRNIT!", said Mina. She didn't have a choice. She sideswiped some of the mercs and rammed into the rest like an out of control taxi, knocking them down in an instant. And two more minutemen dropped to the ground.

Big leaped over the remaining milita and jumped into the fray, taking the bulk of the fire and lashing out at the mercs and the remaining SWATbot with his fishing rod, cracking open their skulls and taking them down for the count. "Gaea this stings!" In short, with a flash of swirling, punching yellow and a blast of feline purple and an extra hail of bullets, both of the SWATbots were thrashed and the remaining mercs were either knocked unconscious or… 'incapacitated.' From the looks of it, they managed to survive. But that wasn't exactly the same as winning.

Mina was panting and ragged like a grizzled soldier and a scared civilian all at once. She looked at the remnants of the battle and the bodies strewn across the village path, and all she could do was hope that none of them were corpses. Fat chance of that.

"Oh Gaea." Mina nearly collapsed to her knees. She turned to Big, clutching his fur in an act of desperation. "Please tell me that they aren't, that we didn't—"

"We saved as many as we could, kiddo," said Big. "That's what counts. Don't tell yourself any different."

Just then, a loud groan was heard from the Egg Foreman, clutching multiple wounds on his chest with both of his large metallic hands as tried his best to hold on. Mina then rushed over him, wanting to just know she saved SOMEONE. "Careful kid!", saig Big before his ears seemed to prick up at something most unusual, as though a normal kitty-cat were sensing an intruder in their midst. "Is that a buzzing sound?"

"Are you okay?!" said Mina. The Foreman gasped and stuttered, trying his best to get the words out. Though as he did so, he slowly brought a receiver clutched in his grip like a precious keepsake straight to his lips. And with the sheer amount of effort that only a dying man could extert, he said, "Buzz…bombers…power…source…mayor's house…can't… let them… get it… attack…"

"Buzzbombers?" said Mina.

"KIDDO!" said Big. "LOOK UP"

Mina did just that. Soaring straight overheard like a small horde locusts were the buzzbombers. And they were heading right for the mayor's mansion.

* * *

Maw didn't say a word. In fact, he couldn't say a word. Not that he needed to. Instead, he rushed into action. He may not have been the fastest thing alive or anywhere close, but he was still a speedy little bugger. Tails flew up above and fired off his blaster, but Maw darted directly under before tossing a small rock like a bullet. Tails barely managed to dodge it, and it still grazed him ever so slightly.

"TAILS!", said Johnny. He briefly looked up towards the two-tailed wonder to make sure he was okay before turning his eyes back towards the problem at hand, and by the time he did, said problem was now right at his doorstep. He tried to whack Maw with his mace for the little good that would do him. With one hand, he blocked Johnny's mace with ease before crushing it into scrap metal. Johnny tried to give a good old-fashioned kick to the groin, but before he knew it, he was being held above the ground in Maw's grasp.

"JOHNNY!" said Tails. He made ready to fire only for Maw to hold his captive right in Tails' line of fire, making it clear what would happen if he did. The game was in Maw's favor. Who could have possibly have been able to save our heroes now?

Just then, Maw could hear just the slightest crinkling of grass from less than a foot away. He whirled around and hurled Johnny at the slinking Hershey, not that it deterred her any. With catlike tread, she leaped straight out of Johnny's way, leaving him to skid into the grass like a runaway train. She rushed over to Maw and did her best to dodge and parry his fearsome blows, but she knew she wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. Instead, she went for a something a tad more unconventional. Like a prize-winning boxer, she dodged one last straight before getting a good firm grip on him and tossing him high into the air like a baseball. "TAILS! FIRE! NOW!"

"GOT IT!", yelled Tails. Tails aimed at Maw as quick as he could and, as Maw continued to fly into the sky, Tails fired at just under full settings at his apex. The blast shot Maw straight into the nearest hill, and he fell right to the ground after leaving a noticeably form-fitting imprint upon it. Maw was heavily frayed, but not quite beaten, and still with some fight left in him. He did his best to get himself up, staggering all the while, ready to show that as sizzled as he was, this was far from the end of-

"JOHNNY!", said Tails.

The next thing Maw knew, he was falling to the ground with a rather large lump on his noggin, almost like one of those old cartoons. Why, he swore he could see small stars swirling around his head! How authentic. And standing right behind where Maw used to be was Johnny, wielding a time-honored frying pan he pulled from his pack. It didn't take a genius to put two and two together.

"And stay down!" said Johnny.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," said Hershey, putting a finger to her lip like the sex-kitten she was. "Or maybe I should."

"Great job, Johnny!", said Tails. "Just how much do you have in that pack of yours anyway?"

"Enough. Anyway, we need to hurry on over to Sonic. He's the only way we're gonna be able to get over to the village in time, and—"

"Hold on a minute, Johnny," said Tails. "Shouldn't we do something about Maw?"

"He's got a point," said Hershey. "He might just come after us again. Besides, he'd make a a hell of a prisoner."

"And just how are we supposed to keep this guy locked up?", said Johnny. "You saw what he could do. Hell, if you hadn't gouged that ox's eyes out, he'd probably be just as tough. Right now, we just can't handle it. So until we can, we leave them where they are. With any luck, we'll be long gone by the time they come to."

"Or we could just put them out of their misery. Why, I bet the ox there would welcome it after—"

"NO! We ain't executioners."

"You can't be serious."

"I am."

"Then maybe you're the one who's blind. Like it or not, we're in a war. If we just leave these two here, nevermind the other mercenaries, they're bound to only cause more trouble for us later. And I don't think you can afford to take that chance."

"We ain't murderers."

"But we are soldiers. When you're in a war, that's what you are. And soldiers can't afford to take risks."

"HEY!", said Tails. "Look, I can't say I know what's the right thing to do here, but I do know that every second you two spend arguing about semantics is another second wasted. We need to help Sonic and the villagers. Figuring out just what we should be doing in this war can come later. Now please tell me that's something the two of you can agree on."

Johnny looked at Tails as though he was wiser beyond his years. In that instance, he certainly didn't seem like he was twelve years old, stature aside. And that just made Johnny wonder if he wasn't the real twelve year old here. "Smart kid," he said. "He's right. We can talk about this later. Right now, we've gotta help Sonic and the others. Can we at least agree on that?"

"No problem," said Hershey. "The kid's right. What say we table this for now, shall we?"

"Right. Let's move it." And move it they did.

* * *

"Amy?"

Huddled under a mahogany table in the Mayor's mansion were Cream, Amy, and Cheese, the table's pristine nature obscuring the reality of their situation. The mayor himself was sidled right next to the door with a crossbow in hand, like a skilled yet wary hunter waiting for his prey while hoping that it'll never comes.

"Yeah, Cream?", said Amy.

Cream hugged Cheese like a teddybear. "I'm scared." This wasn't exactly an unreasonable reaction. They could hear the gunfire and chaos and bloodshed going on outside the mansion within the village streets, and in spite of themselves, all they could think was that they were glad they weren't caught up in it. Mostly.

"Me too. But being scared isn't going to change anything. All we can do is just hope for the best." In spite of this, Amy still held her crossbow tight like it was a part of herself, as though she knew it wasn't going to be that simple.

"If you say so. I do hope my Mother's alright. When I returned home for my lessons, she had left a note saying Chocolate — that's her favorite Chao — had gone missing and she had left the village to find her. Chocolate often goes out to play in a lake some ways north of here. So she should be alright."

"That's good to hear. I just hope my Dad's okay. Our house is at the edge of town, so with any luck, he should be fine, but still."

Just then, Cheese's drooping yellow ball suddenly rose up as the little Chao became as alert as a trained watchdog. "Cheese?", whispered Cream. The Chao looked up above, almost as if it could see something that the others couldn't. Like an ominous specter looming over them all.

And that was when he screamed.

* * *

"OHGAEAOHGAEAOHGAEA!"

Mina rushed over to the high-flying buzzbombers in a flash, but being a strictly ground-based speedster, there wasn't much she could do. Actually, there were a few different things she could have done, but thanks to her inexperience, she wasn't aware that there were. Instead, she gathered up some small pebbles and tried to fling them at the buzzbombers like bullet shells, but to no avail. They didn't even need to dodge; rather, the pebbles just bounced off their metal casing, as though specks of gravel were sprinkling them. And they were just within firing range of the Mayor's Mansion.

* * *

"What is it Cheese?!" Cream tried her best to calm Cheese down like an overly concerned mother, not that it did any good. The Chao may have stopped screaming, but it was still yelling and chirping to high heaven, flailing its' arms about in a desperate bid to tell everyone SOMETHING. Even the Mayor was staring at him by this point, his own eyes wide with confusion and irritation.

"What is he making that racket for?! He's going to get us all killed!"

"Cream," said Amy, "try to calm him down, please! We don't want to let them know we're here!"

"Quiet, please!", said Cream. "I think he's trying to tell me something!"

"Which is?", said the mayor.

"He's telling me, yes, he's telling me that… they're trying to kill him!"

* * *

"Hang tight kiddo!" Big let loose his fishing rod and lashed out with it like a wild snake at as many bombers as he could, slicing clean through them at a level beyond those of experts. And a bit of help from the remaining militia and their rifles didn't hurt. In short order, just about all of them had been taken care of, the task itself it a breeze thanks to the bombers not changing their line of fire. In the end, just a mere three buzzbombers were left. They were easy pickings, and like a master fisherman, Big was able to dig his hook into the lot of them; hook, line, and sinker. And yet, for all of his efforts, he still wasn't fast enough to bash in their metal skulls before they let out one last series of shots. All aimed straight at the Mayor's mansion.

"AMY!"

* * *

Cheese made one last terrible scream like a child knowing the end was surely here and clung to Cream in what it could only assume it thought were its' last moments.

"Cheese?!", said Cream. And as Cream and Amy and the Mayor looked up as they heard the incoming blasts from above, they at last knew the reason for his terror. And they couldn't blame him.

* * *

"NO!"

Mina barreled over the mansion, desperate to try and save everyone or anyone, but she was too late. The blasts struck the mansion, and like being covered with gasoline, it exploded into flame. All Mina could do was collapse to her knees in defeat, wondering just how she could have let it come to this. She buried her head into her hands, sobbing as though she could cause a flood, unsure how she could—

"KIDDO!"

Mina looked up. There in the smoldering flames of what was once the mayor's mansion was a bright blue light, shining and shimmering and crystalline in its' brilliance. It was like a gift from Gaea itself. It slowly moved closer to Mina and put out some of the flames, and as it did so, Mina knew she could see someone within it. Three someones, come to think of it. The light moved ever closer, and by the time it had finally reached Mina and made its landing, she could tell just who was within: Cream and Cheese, eyes closed and holding hands as if in a trance, with Amy floating helplessly beside them. Now on the ground, the light faded as quickly as it appeared and Cream fell right to her knees just as Mina had been. And all Mina could do was hug her. "Oh, Gaea!"

Amy fell to the ground as well, though like a reasonably skilled acrobat, she was able to keep her balance and stay on her feet. "Oh, Gaea!", she said. "I'm not even sure what that was. Cream, are you okay?!"

"Easy there, kiddo." Big walked over to the youngsters, wanting to make sure they were alright like a concerned parent. "She looks pretty tuckered out. Though if she's the one who saved your butts, I'm not even sure how she did it. Though I am wondering one thing. Where's the mayor?"

Amy almost gasped, clasping her hands to her mouth in horror as she looked back at the mansion, now smoldering underneath the balmy bloodred sunset. "Oh Gaea!"

"Damn. If he's still in there, he's likely grilled Mobian by now."

"Did you have to put it like that?!", shouted Amy.

"Just telling it like it is. You're right though. He deserved better than that."

Just then, Cream slowly came to her senses, with Cheese coming to beside her.

"Oh… what happened?"

"Oh thank Gaea!", said Mina, hugging her again as if seeing Cream up and at em was all she needed to see. "Don't worry now, it's gonna be alright! All that matters is you're safe and sound! Doesn't really matter how!"

Cream and Cheese rubbed their eyes, Cream in particular still feeling a tad sleepy. "Oh my! Just what in…"

And then she saw the village. Bodies on either side, beaten and bloody and full of holes. Houses torn right through. And the mayor's fashion was smoldering like a bonfire, with the mayor himself nowhere to be seen.

"What, what in…"

"Don't worry, Cream," said Amy, placing her gloved hands on her shoulders. "It's going to be alright. Just don't think about it, please."

Cream just couldn't grasp it. Fred was dead. She knew Fred. Before he became a minuteman, Fred was the owner of the bakery. He baked the best bread anybody had ever seen. And now he was gone.

"What is…"

"Easy now, kiddo." Big took another step closer, just short of closing the gap. "It's gonna be okay. Nothin' to worry 'bout."

But Cream knew better. She tried to stand up, but she found herself kneeling again before she knew it, just short of collapsing altogether out of sheer exhaustion. "What, why…"

"Please," said Mina, "just—"

But it was too late. "WHAT ON MOBIUS IS HAPPENING?!" A surge of energy then shot straight out of Cream like a wave of blue, electric energy, blasting Mina, Amy, and Big to the four winds but without damaging them directly. Mina managed to bounce off of a tree back to where she'd been while Big stood his ground, taking the wave full force and doing nothing else but squinting a bit.

"Damn, that tickles."

And as for Amy, she did what any sane daughter trained by a former milita leader would do; catch herself as soon as her hand neared the ground and flip herself to safety as though were she in a movie. Not that she knew what a movie was, but still.

"Well. That was close."

And Cheese? Cheese for whatever reason was not affected in the slightest. He stood there, watching Cream with both a sense of intrigue and dread. As if it were something to be fascinated by and something to hear. And yet, none of this was enough to overcome his love towards her as he grabbed Cream's ankle and gripped it with his rounded off arms like a scared babe.

"Well. That was different. Big held up his arms as if to brace himself for an even stronger blow, not that he was sure he'd need to. This time, Cream was wide awake, and as she slumped back to the floor, she knew without a shadow of a doubt what she'd just done.

"No. This cannnot be happening. I couldn't have done…" And she stopped herself as she realized she very well could have. Or rather, someone could have let her.

"Cheese?"

"Cheese?" said Amy. "What's Cheese got to do with this?"

"No. You couldn't have. You couldn't possibly be…"

"Be what?" said Big.

For a moment, all Cream do was stare at Cheese, not aware in the slightest at just what Cream was hinting at. All he cared about was making sure his master and best friend was A-OK. That was all he needed to know.

Just then, Cream saw something out of the corner of her eye. The Egg Foreman was lying at the foot of the village, trembling, the lights in his eyes nearly going out. And yet, he just had enough will in him to lift up his blaster. And with the last of his strength, his blaster aimed at Amy, he pulled the trigger.

Amy meanwhile had a different problem. She'd been standing there as she looked back and forth between Cream and the Mayor, doing her best to take it all in as best she could. And that was when she noticed one lone buzz bomber. It was trashed and battered, but it was still wriggling, and it had just enough energy left to fire up one final shot. And it was aimed at Cream.

Amy readied her crossbow and with one solitary shot, she nailed the buzzbomber in the head like shooting a bullseye.

As for Cream, she didn't know how she did it, and while she had an inkling why, she wasn't sure if she could believe it. And yet, she was doing it. Like a blessing from Gaea, her eyes lit up a bright blue and she fired out one powerful blast of energy. The Foreman was consumed within the blast, and with one frightening scream was sent to a place there'd be no coming back from.

Amy and Cream slowly looked at one another, both realizing they'd just saved the others' bacon. But while Amy breathed with a sigh of relief, all Cream could do was look up at the cloudy, darkening sky above her before turning her eyes down upon her hands. She gripped one of them, and she could feel the power now flowing within her veins. Power that she just used to save another. And in the process, go against everything she believed.

"Holy cow!", said Mina. "How did you do that?! I mean, I'm the second fastest thing alive, but that?! That's just, I mean, what the heck?!"

"She's got a point, kiddo," said Big. "I may be a hulking blob of blubber and Mina might be a living bullet, but you? That's somethin' else. And as far I know, flying with those ears of yours is the only thing you've been able to do. That was something else entirely."

"I…" Cream looked again at Cheese, still hugging her leg and wanting nothing more but to tell Cream it was alright, even if his lack of Mobian vocal cords prevented him from doing so. And yet, one look in his eyes was also enough to tell her that somehow, someway, he was responsible for this. That he was the one who turned Cream into a walking force of destruction.

By this point, the other villagers and the remaining militia had started to come out from their hiding spots. They stared and gaped at the burning mansion like a flock left without their Shepherd. And then they turned their gaze over to the remains of the bloodbath near the village entrance. Some put their hands over their mouths in horror. Others nearly felt the need to vomit. And some did. But in spite of themselves, all of them could feel one solitary thing more than anything else; 'At least it wasn't me.'

That is, all of them except for Cream. She looked at the devastation and nearly puked. She was no less horrified by what she saw before her, and yet, though she believed at that moment that she wasn't responsible for most of it, she knew a small part for which she was. The Egg Foreman. And as his dead, lifeless eyes seemed to stare into hers, she could feel nothing short of the gaping maw of the Abyss staring straight back.

Amy slowly walked over to Cream. She knew that something was wrong. Heck, all of this was wrong, but Cream most of all. It just wasn't like her to be so, so traumatized. And she knew she had to do anything to help her. "Cream? What's wrong?" She tried to place a white gloved hand on her shoulder, to try to let her know that she was there for her. That they were all there. But that was the last thing Cream wanted.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" She slapped away Amy's hand as though it were that of the dark side of Gaea and rose to her feet as a rabbit possessed. "Just stay away! Please."

The villagers weren't sure what to make of this. They weren't sure what to make of anything just now. On the other hand, Big knew full well what to make of it, and he tried his best to de-escalate things as much as he could. Before it got ugly. "Easy, kiddo. It's alright. I know it's been rough, but it's gonna be okay."

Cream shouted right at the top of her lungs. ""NO IT'S NOT! I KILLED HIM! I KNOW HE WAS TRYING TO KILL AMY, BUT I STILL KILLED HIM! And nothing you do or say can change that!"

Big took one small step forward, or at least as small as he could make it, like a father trying to comfort a crying child. "Kiddo…"

"DON'T 'KIDDO' ME! I JUST… I just…" And then she broke down into one big weeping sob, her head buried in her knees like a wailing sinner. "I didn't ask for any of this! I never wanted to kill anyone! How could I? How? I just don't know…"

In this moment of sheer and utter vulnerability, Amy saw her chance. Big was about to take another step forward, but Amy gave him one good look as if to say, 'I got this'. And one long look later told Amy that he agreed. Amy steadily walked towards Cream. She slowly placed one hand on her shoulder. And Cream didn't so much as budge. To Amy, this was Cream finally giving Amy the go-ahead to kneel down beside her and give Cream the biggest hug of her life. And so she did. "It's okay Cream. It's okay."

"It's not okay," whispered Cream. "It's not."

"You did it to save me. That's what counts. Now hush. Come on. Just let it all out.

The sky crackled. The clouds erupted with sound and fury. And the floodgates of heaven opened up from the sky above. And as Cream let out one big sob, she and Amy could care less.


	23. Green Hell, Part 4

_Author's Note: Just a FYI, but this is the first of two Chapters released today, with the second being much longer than the first. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

"Okay, done now."

Sonic and Swifty had been going at it for what seemed like ages to them, only though in reality it had just been fifteen minutes or so. Punch after dodge after slash after dodge after punch after dodge and rinse and repeat. That was how things had been going ever since Sonic and Swifty had their halftime break, and after pushing themselves to what they considered their limits for so long, the both of them were wondering if either could keep it up for long. But right then and there, Swifty stopped the slashing and the dodging and just stood there like a beanbole, and Sonic couldn't help but feel it was something more. "Wait, you serious?"

"You got it, bro." Swifty wiped the sweat from his brow like a track runner after a long jog. "It's a war of attrition. You punch, I dodge; you dodge, I slash; I slash, you dodge. It's a never ending cycle."

"So, is that it? You're just gonna give up? Call it quits?"

"Well, to be honest bro, that's only part of it."

Sonic's brow furrowed as if to say, 'give me a break.' "Okay, I'll bite. What's the other part?"

"The other part is you! I can feel it, man. The only reason this fight's going' nowhere is cause you're holdin' back! You could tear me into whenever you wanted, bro, but you're not! I mean, is it some moral code or somethin'? Is that it?"

Sonic wasn't sure if he could believe what he was hearing. "Are you high?! Do you WANT to get sliced into sushi? Cause that's what would happen if I cut loose!"

"At least it'd be fun. But as is, it ain't worth it. Not even for a paycheck."

"You're serious."

"Serious as I'll ever be. Sides, all's fair in love and war. But that just ain't somethin' you seem to get."

"SONIC!" Just then, Sonic could hear a familiar voice calling to him in the distance. Taking a look behind, he could make out Tails soaring above the plains while Johnny and Hershey followed below. Apparently, they'd hotwired a couple of a motobugs. He then heard a loud whoosh from Swifty, and when he turned back around, he was gone.

"SONIC!" Tails and the others were gaining fast. Under normal circumstances, Sonic would be racing back towards them, but something held him back. In fact, maybe a lot of things had held him back. But was that such a bad thing? He didn't want to kill anyone. Not really. But what if he went up against someone like Swifty again? And if they weren't so amicable as him? Would he be able to take them down without pulling out all the stops?

"SONIC!"

Something to think about. In any case, they still had a job to do. He raced on over to Tails and the others, slowing down as best they could as soon as they saw the fastest thing alive pedaling toward them like a locomotive. He skidded as he came in range, stopping just short of Johnny's motobug.

"Are you okay, big bro?" said Tails. "You look beat."

"It's okay, lil' bro," said Sonic. "Just had a workout is all."

"What happened to the shrew?", said Johhny.

"He took off. Said somethin' about he was pissed off I wasn't cutting him to shreds." This raised more than one set of eyebrows from Johnny and co.

"Sounds like he's got a few screws loose. In any case, we need to get on back to the village. With any luck, Mina managed to warn them in time. If not…"

"No 'if nots'," said Sonic. "I won't make promises I can't keep, but all that matters is gettin' there. And we're goin' now." And with that, he was off.

"Hold on there, Sonic!" It was no use. Sonic was already blazing a path to the south, leaving another trail of dust in his wake. Johnny shook his head like a stubborn parent who could never tell just what got into that child, but there wasn't much he could. "Come on. If we don't hurry, we'll lose him altogether."

"If you say so," said Hershey."

"Got it!", said Tails. And with one rev of the motobugs' engines and one extra swirl from Tails' tails, they were on their way.


	24. Green Hell, Part 5

_Author's Note: Just a FYI, but this is the second of two Chapters released today, with the second being much longer than the first. Thanks for reading!_

* * *

"Hold on just a minute, okay? Just hold on please!"

As the rain put out the fire, Mina was doing her best to ease the worries of the throng of villagers and answer as many questions as she could. Not that they were accepting of some of the answers she gave. They asked her all sorts of questions, such as who would want to attack their little village, or what reason would they have to do so, or how she got her hair that smooth, and so on and so forth. And to each of these questions, Mina gave the honest truth. But the truth wasn't what everyone wanted to hear.

"Hold on a minute," said a young whippersnapper. "You seriously can't expect us to believe that some fat a-hole from the federation's taken over the kingdom just like that."

"But it's the truth!", said Mina. "Besides, it wasn't just any fat a-hole! I mean, I know you guys probably don't get out of this village much, but you'd think there'd be some things you'd know about!"

"Hey! Don't you be insulting me!"

Mina closed her eyes, wondering what this yokel was even on. "I'm not insulting you! I'm just trying to tell you guys the truth."

"And how are we supposed to know what the truth even is?" asked another older villager. "You're right. We don't get out much. But neither has the kingdom given us much of a reason to. What has it ever done for us?"

"I don't know, but that's not the point here! Why is so hard for you to just believe me?!"

"All we know that things were fine before you came down here, and now that you have, half our militia's been wounded or worse, and our mayor is dead! What else do we really know for certain?"

"But I tried to save you! WE tried to save you!"

"And who's we?"

Just then, the villager got his answer. Sonic zoomed into the village and skidded to a stop in front of Mina. He looked around the village, hoping that he had somehow managed to make it. And all he could think was, 'if wishes were horses.'

"Sonic!", said Mina. "Thank Gaea! Did you take care of the shrew?"

"Uh, yeah," said Sonic. "Sort of. And the other guys mopped up everything else. They should be here gettin' here pronto. But speaking of here, what the hell happened?!"

"That's what we would like to know," said another villager. This one was an old crone, her long droopy ears reaching the ground as she hobbled forward on her cane, her ragged skirt dragging behind her. "This young girl has been attempting to explain to us just why our village had to undergo such horrors, but with only her word to go on, it doesn't give her much credibility. I would like to believe her, but without someone to vouch for her, it is not something I can in good conscience bring myself to do. And I believe it is the same for most of us here."

"You want someone to vouch for her, you've got him. Everything Mina's been tellin' you has been on the level. If she hadn't gotten here when she did, things would've gotten a lot worse."

"So you say. But can you guarantee this?"

"He shouldn't have to, and you know it." Big's fishing rod was at the ready as he walked back over towards the crowd. Amy and Cream were following straight behind with the former still holding her arm around the latter, her tears finally subsiding after lasting long enough to fill a small glass of water.

"Big," said the crone. "You also attempted to protect our village?"

Big scoffed. "'Attempt'? Lady, we protected this village, and you know it. Yeah, some bad stuff happened, but you know what? Bad stuff happens! And take it from me, more bad stuff would've happened if we hadn't done a thing. You want to be pissed, be pissed, but don't take it out on the same people who saved your heinies.'

"You might have a point. Still, I do have one thing to ask. You mentioned something about a power source, did you not?" she said to Mina.

"Uh, yeah," said Mina, "I did. Come to think of it."

"And where is that power source now?"

Mina fell silent, and as she looked at Big and Amy, their eyes going wide, the both of them knew precisely why.

"Is there a problem?", asked the crone.

"Uh, no, nothing! Nothing at all!"

Sonic was started to get confused, as though he'd rented a ticket for a play but only came in at the second act. "Okay, what's goin' on? Cause I'm honestly confuzzled."

"Later," whispered Mina. She struggled to think about how to keep this from this from going where she thought it was going, but before she could say anything else, Cream made it all moot. Her head lowered like a sadsack, she stepped forward like a defendant on trial, accepting she was guilty and awaiting her punishment.

"You wished to know where the power source is?", said Cream.

"What is it, child?", said the crone. "Do you know something? Something you are not telling?"

"Don't do it, Cream," whispered Amy. "Please."

"She's right, kiddo," whispered Big. "This is no time to be having a guilt trip."

Just then, the sound of motobugs and flying foxes could be heard from the north, and Sonic knew the others were finally closing in. But just when it seemed they were going to let Cream off the hook, she put herself right back on it.

"The power source. The reason, or one of them, why that band of ruffians attacked and desecrated this wonderful, peaceful little village. Why some of our militia had to lose their lives fighting a pointless battle. And why the mayor burned to death. It's…"

"Please, Cream," whispered Amy, "don't do this!"

"What she said, kiddo," whispered Big. "Come on now."

"…it's me."

Now she'd done it.

The other villagers were at once shocked and appalled, like a flock of sheep who had discovered a wolf among their number. Sonic on the other hand still wasn't sure what was going on. "Okay, obviously I got here way mondo late, but I'm still not sure just what's goin' on here, sorry."

The crone might as well had not even heard him. "How can this be, child?"

Amy leaped in front of Cream and guarded her body like a human shield, all while plastering on her face a goofy grin as though she were some cartoon character. "It's not! Honest! Cream's just a bit confused! We all are!" She then whispered to Cream, telling her to, "Say you're confused." As if that would be enough.

"I'm sorry, Amy," said Cream, "but I must do this." She then tried to shove Amy aside, but like a newborn babe who didn't know their own strength, she wound up knocking her to the ground instead. "Oh, Amy, I'm so sorry!"

"No sweat!" Amy quickly rose up from the ground and dusted herself off, though she would have been lying if she said that was something she'd been expecting. Or that she wasn't a tad bruised. "Just warn me next time you do something like that, alright?"

The crone pointed at Cream, her long spindly finger shaking with sheer intensity. "I will ask you again, child. How can this be?"

Cream took a long deep breath as if getting herself ready for a heck of a speech. "Most of you know about chao. They have been with us for as long as any of us can remember. In fact, my mother is one of the foremost chao breeders in the kingdom."

"Yes, I am aware of this. But what does this have to do with you?"

"Most chao only live for a few weeks before dying of old age. But this is not the end for a chao. Instead, a cocoon forms around them and they are reborn as a brand new baby chao, reincarnated and ready to live again."

"Your point?"

Cream looked at Cheese. The poor baby Chao had no idea what was going on, still hugging Cream's feet as though she meant more to him than life itself. He didn't know what he had done. But Cream did.

"However, some chao are… different. According to legend and old manuscripts, some chao are capable of living for much longer periods of time. Perhaps forever. And that is not all. These chao often have special powers and abilities, far beyond that of even a normal Mobian. Normally, they do not possess them, but in times of great stress, they are unleashed onto the world. And if they have formed a strong enough bond with their master…"

"Kiddo," whispered Big, "stop. Now. Please. I'm beggin' ya."

But Cream just couldn't bring herself to. She was to blame in some way. She had to have been. And she had to take responsibility. She had to. Didn't she?

"When they form a strong enough bond, then those powers and their long lifespans are also capable of being shared with another. With their master."

The crone noticed Cheese standing next to Cream, still hugging her like a child hugs its mother. "And you are that Chao's master?"

"Yes."

Just then, Johnny and the others arrived, stopping at the village entrance before he and Hershey dismounted while Tails landed. And what they saw wasn't very encouraging.

"I hate to say it," said Tails, "but I'm not sure we managed to make it."

"You think?" said Johnny.

"Time enough for chitchat later," said Hershey. "Seems to me there's a little hubbub going on." She pointed towards the front of the mayor's mansion which was now nothing but a charred shell of its' former self. Cream, the crowd, and the others stood in front. One look at that crowd was all it took to remind Johnny and the others of an angry mob.

"This is lookin' bad," said Johnny. "Let's move it, people!"

Meanwhile, Cream was starting to wonder if she had been better off burning to death in that mansion after all. The crowd now knew the truth, at least as Cream knew it. And it was starting to get ugly. "So," said the crone. "You are responsible for bringing this horror upon us?"

Cream was about to say yes, but like bolts from the blue, Sonic and Mina barreled straight in front of her, with Amy and Big not far behind.

"Hey now!", said Sonic. "I don't know what's going on here, but she's just a kid! If she did do anything, she didn't know any better!"

Amy briefly took notice of Sonic. Something about him nearly threatened to consume her thoughts entirely like a blessed disease. But no! Cream came first. Boy-crazy came later. "And she didn't do anything!", she said. "It wasn't her fault! Don't start acting like an angry mob from Mobenstien!"

Either the crowd didn't get the reference, or they didn't care. Soon, it wasn't just the old crone who wanted blood. 'You're responsible for this!', they said. 'If it weren't for you and that chao, we wouldn't be in this mess!' 'The mayor would still be alive!' 'Get the hell out!'

"Alright, people!" Johnny stormed in front of the mob, standing like a tall, imposing pillar that loomed over anyone shorter than 6'4. "What the hell is goin' on?"

"Oh, thank Gaea!", said Mina.

"Who's the fuzzy beanpole?", said Amy.

"Someone who's a got a head on their shoulders from the look of it," said Big.

Mina darted to over to Johnny. She didn't know if he could sort this mess out, but she didn't know what else to do. "Quick, you gotta do something. Everything's gone south, and I just don't know what to do!"

Johnny did a quick scan of the village, and what he saw was sobering. They'd managed to save many a villager, but there'd still been a price to pay. "You did what you could. So tell me, what the hell's goin' on?"

"That is what is going on!" The crone shakily pointed her long shriveled finger at Cream as though she were a pariah, her eyes widening as they saw nothing short of a monstrosity. "That girl and her Chao are the power source those men were looking for! If they had not been here, none of this would have happened!"

Johnny found this hard to believe. He took a quick look at Cream. In fact, it was a longer look than he would have liked. That short, bright dress. Those long, floppy ears. That cute, adorable face, as filled with pain and sorrow as it was. All of that reminded him of someone he had tried so hard to forget. In any case, if she was somehow that power source or at least related to it in some way, then he knew that only one thing was certain.

"BULLHOCKEY!"

The crone titled her head, as did the other villagers, not quite sure just Johnny was attempting to accomplish with this outlandish statement. "'Bullhockey'?"

"You heard me. You say she's the power source, that she's what those men were looking for? Fine. I'm not sure if I can believe it, but fine. But let me tell you somethin'. Those men would have been here sooner or later, and do you know why? Because there's an oversized omelet trying to take over the kingdom, that's why! The only reason he's here now is you had something he wanted, except you've also got something else he wants: You! Hell, he wants all of us enslaved or captured or worse! If they didn't come today, they'd be here tomorrow or in a week or maybe even a month, and that's being generous. So what you're doin' now is nothin' short of finding somebody to blame."

The crone wasn't sure what to make of this. None of the other villagers were. They stood there for the longest time with no clue what else to do. Then they turned to one another, scratched their heads, and began to wonder if perhaps they didn't know so much about this whole turn of affairs as they thought they did. 'You think he's telling the truth?' 'He does have a point.' 'I still say we should get rid of her.' 'Can't we all just get along?'

Big, Amy and the others were standing off to the side with rapt attention, wondering if perhaps they had managed to turn the tide. "Wowza," said Amy. "He's something else."

"You got that right," said Big. "I've never seen someone shame a mob so fast. Hell, he might've beat my record.'

"Let's just hope this works," said Tails. "I don't think we're out of the woods yet."

And all Cream could do was look down at her shoes, her eyes half-closed, wondering if she should have just left already and made things easier on everyone. Including her mother. What would she have to say about all this?

The Crone raised one long fingernail into the air, silencing the crowd like witchcraft. "If what you say is true," said the Crone, "then you might have a point. But the fact is that he may still be searching for that power source. How do we know he might not come here again to retrieve it?"

"I might have an answer to that," said Tails. He hopped forward, using his tails to give his jump a bit of distance, and made the effort to instill some degree of intelligence into the conversation. "Most of us here are part of an effort to stand up against Doctor Eggman — uh, that's the 'oversized omelet' Johnny was referring to — and take back the kingdom. We've got a number of scientists and engineers in our ranks, and I know a thing or two myself. If we can identify the nature of the power source, we should be able to whip up something that can mask it. If Eggman coming back here just to get that power source worries you, then that shouldn't be a problem anymore."

The Crone shook her head, apparently believing there was indeed a problem. "Again, even if what you say is true, it would still take time to do all of what you say. Time to identify the nature of the power source and time to create the means to counteract it. And that would be time enough for this 'Eggman' to return. And you might not be here to protect us when he does."

"So, what are you saying?" said Amy. "That you're just gonna kick Cream out of here with nothing but the clothes on her back? Is that it?"

The crone's eyes narrowed, her gray pupils peeking out like deathly slits. And that was enough for Amy to get the message.

"Oh." Amy could scarcely believe it, but there she had it.

"Hell no!" Sonic raced between the mob and Cream, standing next to Johnny and looking ready to bust some heads. "You're gonna kick this girl out for doing nothing at all? She didn't know what was going on! She didn't know her chao was Eggman's next target! Besides, it's the chao Eggman's after anyway, right? Maybe if we split the two up, he'll go after him and leave her and the rest of you alone. Problem solved!"

Cheese shivered and again grabbed Cream's leg, frightened at the mere prospect of the two ever being parted. "Thank you," said Cream, "but even if I wanted to be separated from Cheese, I don't think I could be. Not now."

"Wait, what now?"

"According to the same legends that and stories that speak of those special chao like Cheese, a chao and its' master cannot be parted. They must stay together. If they are split apart for whatever reason…" Cream started to tremble. She almost couldn't bear to say what she knew was the truth. But she had to. "…if they are split apart, then both of them will perish."

This was new. "You serious?! Not cool, NOT cool! This is SO not cool!"

"Maybe not, but it is the truth. Or at least a very real possibility."

"So then," said the crone, "it is impossible to split apart these two. And we also cannot keep them here without this 'Eggman' returning sooner than later. I see no choice but for her to leave."

"Now hold on a minute," said Hershey. "Doesn't the girl's mother get a say in this?"

"Indeed she does." Everyone looked up at the sky above, and what they say begged description. Flying in from on high was a tall rabbit in a long pink dress with the same color of fur and big floppy ears as Cream. A brown chao with pink flamingo wings was flying in right beside her, and as they landed, the crowd was speechless. All except for Cream, who ran straight towards her open arms.

"MOTHER!"

Cream's mother crouched down and her arms opened up, waiting to caress Cream and hold her tight like Mommy's little angel. But Cream did something Mommy didn't count on. Just short of being within her mother's arms, she stopped. And for the life of her, Mommy didn't know why.

"Cream?" she said. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, mother, but I just don't know." She then opened her heart up to her mother, pouring out every last excruciating detail as if it were painful just to talk about it. Tears started to stream down her face as she told her story. And as her mother had heard the whole tale, she did the same. By the end, even if Cream couldn't bring herself to hugging her mother, that didn't stop her mother from hugging her instead

"Oh, Gaea. Cream, I am so sorry. I should have been there. Perhaps if I had been, you wouldn't be in this mess."

"No, Mother," said Cream. "I'm sorry. Perhaps if I had known more about chao, about everything, maybe then…"

"Hush child. It's alright. Everything is going to be alright."

Cream's mother might have thought everything was going to be alright, but the old crone thought otherwise. "Miss Vanilla. It is good to see you again."

"Is it now?" said Vanilla. She let go of Cream and stood firm, staring down the crone with the sheer intensity and menace that only a mother was capable of. "Because from what I can see, you have been treating my daughter as if she is some sort pariah."

"The mayor is dead. And so at this point, the village's survival is what is most important. But with these two in our midst, who knows if that will even be possible."

"Then I suppose we are not welcome."

"You are certainly most welcome, Miss Vanilla. You are still a treasured member of this community, and we have nothing against you. Your daughter on the other hand—"

Vanilla's gaze suddenly bore into the crone's, like a drill digging right down into her very soul. The crone gasped, feeling as though a heavy weight had just been placed on her heart. If such a thing was even possible.

"If my daughter is not welcome here, then neither am I." She retracted her gaze, and the crone felt Vanilla's hold on her soul loosen. She placed a hand on her heart and breathed as if there were no tomorrow, as though she had come this close to paying a visit to the reaper. Hershey looked at Vanilla. It wasn't with any sexual desires as was the norm for her. Instead, she looked at her with a healthy mix of curiosity and a small tinge of dread. As they say, curiosity killed the cat.

"Very well then. If you wish to leave with your daughter, I will not stop you. But know this. I can safely say that I speak for everyone here when I tell you that as long as she is a danger to this village, she is not welcome here. But if you wish to go with her, I cannot stop you."

The crone and Vanilla glared at one another, as though neither of them was willing to budge in a grand contest of wills. And yet, as Vanilla knew full well, when no-one bothered to step off the tracks, all one got was a bloody mess that not a single soul would want. "Cream, pack your bags. We're leaving immediately."

"But where to, mother?" said Cream.

"Anywhere but here."

Cream looked at the mob. Some were hunched over, their eyes burning with rage and contempt, while others were standing tall, their heads turned and lowered as if in shame. As though they wanted nothing more but for Cream and Vanilla to stay, and yet, as things stood, they just didn't know what else to do. And she couldn't blame them.

Amy walked up to Vanilla, her heart pounding and her thoughts racing. " , you can't be serious! You seriously can't tell me you're gonna go just because grannie and her hit squad say so?"

"Thank you, Amy," said Vanilla, "but I can't expect you to understand. These people are frightened, confused. If they felt there was any other way, we wouldn't be in this mess. That said, I cannot condone them for treating my daughter like some a pariah. Even if we could stay, I am not sure I would want to in any case. Not after today."

Amy wrung her hands in consternation. She knew Vanilla had a point. Heck, if she were her in position, she might do the same thing. But to lose one of her best friends? Scratch that. Aside from Big, Cream was her only friend. Could she let them go just like that?

That said, that wasn't the only thing on her mind. Sonic came walking up to Vanilla, and as he did, Amy could only think of one word to describe him: HOT! Those sharp, blue quills; that smooth silky skin; that bravado which she had never actually seen and was just making up as part of her delusional fantasy. This was him. It must've been! This was the boyfriend of her dreams, and as she clasped her hands, she couldn't help but give a sigh of passion, her heart aflutter. And she knew that come the Abyss or high water, she wasn't letting this hog out of her sight.

"Hey there!" Sonic held out his gloved hand for a handshake. "Name's Sonic, Sonic the hedgehog." Amy was this close to taking that sweaty, glorious glove for herself, but Vanilla beat her to it.

"Pleased to meet you, Sonic. From what my daughter tells me, you and the others here tried to save this village and my daughter. Is that correct?"

"It sure is!" said Sonic. "Though I guess the word here's try."

"Nonsense. You did what you could. If you all hadn't been here, things would have been far worse."

"If you say so. Didn't stop you or your daughter from gettin' kicked out though."

"Please, don't blame yourself. Besides, I chose to leave."

"Yeah, but only because your daughter didn't get a choice."

"It's alright, ," said Cream. "Besides, after what I did…"

"Hey, kiddo," said Big, "we went over this. Don't blame yourself."

"I know, I know," said Cream. "Still though…"

Sonic looked at Cream. Poor girl. Probably didn't know what was up and what was down anymore. Still, with any luck, he could help make it a bit better.

"Well, one thing's for sure," he said to Vanilla. "You people are gonna need a new place to live. And I think I've got just the ticket."

Johnny folded his arms, his eyebrows knitting as though he knew just what Sonic was up to. "Sonic, what're you doin'?"

"Relax, Johnny. These people need a place to go, and we got one."

"And normally, I wouldn't have a problem with that. But until Tails and the rest cook up that device of theirs, we might all be sitting ducks."

"He has a point," said Hershey.

"Actually," said Vanilla, "I might have a short-term solution to that. Though for now, you'll just have to take my word for it."

"See?" said Sonic. "A short term solution! Problem solved!"

"WHAT short-term solution?" said Johnny.

"All in due time," said Vanilla. "For now, you will have to trust me. In any case, it should last us long enough for them to build that device the boy spoke about…"

"I'm a not a boy!" Tails began to pout as if he were the spitting image of the eight-year-old that most made him out to be.

Vanilla may as well have not of heard him. "…though after a time, even that may not be necessary."

"Mother?" Cream had thought her mother had told her everything. She could confide in her mother, open up to her, tell every little thing that troubled her and pour out her soul to her, and she thought that her mother had always done the same with her. But had she?

Johnny scratched his gray furry noggin. What she said made sense, and yet it didn't make any sense. A conundrum if there ever was one. "I don't know…"

"Oh, come on!" said Mina. "These two don't have anywhere else to go! Besides, if we're thinking about throwing them out just because of some tracking thing or whatever, then we're not any better than the villagers! And from what Tails and Vanilla are saying, they can take care of that anyway! So come on."

"Alright, alright already! I guess I'm losing this argument. You two wanna come with us, there won't be a problem. We'll fill you in on the way there."

"That's perfectly alright," said Vanilla. "I know all about your, what do you call them, the Freedom Fighters, yes?"

Johhny's gray eyes narrowed, his gaze fixating on Vanilla as she let him know that she knew a bit more than she should've. "And what makes you say that?"

"Let's just say I have my ways. In any case, you can tell me about everything if you wish. After all, I'm guessing it's a long walk, is it not?"

"Not with me around!" Sonic stood straight as a pole, puffed his chest, and beamed, his sheer confidence and gusto radiating all around. "You're looking at the fastest thing alive!" He then pointed to Mina. "Course, the second fastest thing alive's no slouch either, right Mina?"

Mina scratched the back of her head, having no choice but to agree. "Uh, yeah, I guess!"

"You see? With the two of us around, it won't be a problem."

"If you say so," said Vanilla. "Thank you. Both for your generous offer, as well as trying to save my daughter. Even if I had been there, I don't know what I would have done."

"No problem, Miss Vanilla," said Johnny. "Anyway, we've gotta get the two of you back over to Knothole pronto—"

"Care to make it three?" Big raised his large, flabby, gloved hand into the air for all to see.

"And you would be?"

"Oh, hey," said Mina "don't worry, I can vouch for him! That's Big. He was a, uh, big help earlier. If he hadn't been there, I don't know what we would've done."

"Uh-huh. So, any reason for wantin' to come along?"

"Well," said Big, "let's just say I don't care much for the scenery here anymore if you know what I mean." He pointed with his thumb at the villagers, all standing around like a bunch of scared sheep just waiting for the big scary wolves to get the hell out and leave them alone.

"I getcha."

"Plus, I've kinda taken a liking to lil' Cream here. She's one of the only friends I've got. And what she's goin' through now, well I guess I just wanna look after her, you know?"

"I understand," said Johnny. "Well, the more the merrier. In any case, let's get the three of you—"

"Make it four!"

All eyes were on the pink hedgehog in the green dress, waving her hand up in the air like she just didn't care. "I wanna go too!"

"Oh, Gaea." Johnny pinched his furry gray brow, as though he were slowly but surely realizing that he might as well have drawn up a list of people for a field trip. Though he'd be lying if he said this one didn't catch his eye. In fact, she was actually kind of cute. Focus Johnny, focus! "Oh really now?"

"Yeah!" said Amy. "Cream's my friend too, and someone's gotta look after her!"

"Well," said Mina, "she did help out a bit too. She's the one who rung the bell and came up with the plan for routing Eggman's goons you know. And she took care of the last buzzbomber with that crossbow of hers."

"Did she now?" Maybe this kid was worth something after all. "What's your name, kid?"

"Amy! Amy Rose!"

"Well, we could use as much help as we could get. But is lookin' after Cream the only reason you wanna come along?"

Amy glanced at Sonic. There was no doubt about it. THIS was the hedgehog of her dreams! And she wasn't going to rest until she made that dream a reality, even if it took her to the ends of Mobius itself! Not that that would be necessary, but still. And Sonic couldn't help but feel as if the real danger had gotten a whole lot closer than ever.

"Maybe, maybe not," said Amy. "But I'm comin', and that's that!"

"Oy. Fine. You wanna come, I can't stop you."

"YAY!" Amy hopped up and down like a drunk schoolgirl. If this how she was sober, Johnny didn't want to see her when she turned legal.

"Uh, right. Well, if that's everyone, then we need to get the four of you…"

He looked around the village, waiting on the off chance someone else saw fit to chip in.

"…we need to get the FOUR of you back to camp. You comin', Hershey?"

"I suppose it'd be best to talk to the boss in person," said Hershey. "And we need to get those networks set up. Sure, I'll tag along."

"Sounds good," said Johnny. "Right then. Sonic, Mina, you know the drill."

"Right!", said Sonic.

"Sounds good!" said Mina. Everyone then formed two lines. Sonic, Tails, Johnny, Amy, and Big were in one, while Mina, Hershey, Vanilla, and Cream were in the other, with both chao tagging along right beside their masters. But before everyone took off, Cream had one last thing to say.

"Uh, Big, Amy? Thank you both for coming along, but you don't have to do this. I don't want either of you abandoning everything for my sake."

"Hey," said Big, "don't worry about it! Sides, you and Amy were the only things keeping me there anyway. If not for you two, I would've moved on ages ago."

"Oh. And you Amy?"

"Hey," said Amy, "not everything's about you! I've got my own reasons for coming along. That said, long as I'm here, don't worry about it. With us around, nothing's going to happen to you. You can count on it!"

A fine mist began to cover Cream's eyes. She did her best to wipe them away with her free hand, but they just wouldn't stop. And yet, somehow, part of her was glad. "Thank you," she said. "The both of you."

"It's alright, Cream," said Vanilla. "It's alright." She wiped away Cream's tears before gripping her hand once more.

"Thank you, mother," said Cream. "I, I think I'm a bit better now."

"It's nothing to be ashamed of," said Vanilla. "Cry as much as you wish. All of us need to cry sometime."

"Right," said Johnny. "Let's do it to it!" And with one last look of confusion and terror from the villagers, and one last burning glare of scorn from the crone, they were off.


	25. Green Hell, Epilogue

"Pitiful."

On a tall hill in the distance stood a tall, hulking, literal mammoth of a Mobian. Dressed in a fine white suit, his pearly tusks would have shined in the sunlight had it not been for the ongoing deluge. Not that it phased him in the least.

He looked down on Sonic and the others racing across the plains from on-high, a pair of binoculars practically glued to his eyes, shaking his head as he mused on their pathetic situation.

"In a way, it is quite lamentable. These poor souls are risking their lives in a battle they may not even win. All because some tin-pot dictator has delusions of grandeur. I suppose we shall see just who is truly delusional in time. Still, if he's going to carry things this far, then I suppose I had better take care of loose ends."

He turned, facing a gaping wide entrance to a long and deep cavern that lay before him. He stepped into the cavern and began his trek down a long, winding pair of old stone steps. There were no lights. He was in complete and utter darkness, like sailing into a black hole. One wrong move and he was sure to snap his neck. And yet, for reasons that only he knew, he didn't seem concerned in the least.

Reaching the end of the tunnel, he finally saw fit to pull a lighter out of his pocket. He opened it up, lighting the bottom of the cavern. There was a stone table sitting dead in the center, and a stone pillar standing right in front of it. It was carved and chiseled with characters from an old, ancient language, one that the mammoth couldn't have possibly understood. And yet, somehow, he did. "'Lo, we offer up this humble sacrifice to you, Dark Gaea, for you are the only truly Gaea there shall ever be.' If only those poor fools knew." He then looked at the table, almost remembering some distant memory from ages past. "Has it truly been so long?" He then shook his head, his long thick snout waving to and fro as he did his best to shove it all aside. "In any case, to business."

The mammoth then lifted his strong, mighty fist high; his eyes going wild with fury as he smashed straight through the stone table with one clean punch. He then tore the pillar out of the earth and slammed it into the wall, it's pieces scattering against the cavern floor. He stood, his nostrils flaring, like a savage beast ready to tear into anyone who so much as looked at him crosseyed. And then, like a summer breeze, it passed. His eyes became calm, his breathing steadied, and he adjusted his red tie as though he were getting ready for a business meeting.

"Well. Enough of that. At the very least, that should stop that charlatan from attempting to meddle with powers he can barely comprehend. Still, I suppose that I was once the same as him. Something to think about."

He then walked back up the steps, eventually making his way out of the cavern and back into the torrent of rain, though it was starting to let up. He stared at the dark skies looming above him, and yet, in spite of the booming thunder and crackling lightning, all he could do was smile, his face splitting with uproarious laughter. "So then! Gaea himself is laughing at me, is he?! Well, we shall see who will be laughing when all is said and done! Know this! Doctor Eggman or whatever that fool calls himself is not the only threat that hedgehog or whoever else shall have to deal with, far from it! When the dust is settled, and the blood of my enemies fills all of the rivers of Mobius, it is Mammoth Mogul who shall rule over all he surveys! Mark my words."

And as Mogul started to climb down the hill, all the heavens above could do was tremble with fury. And with one last flash, a bolt of lightning struck the hill with the force of Gaea. And his words were marked.


	26. A Day In The Life of Tekno, Part 1

_Hi everyone. So here's a thought. Due to how I write, I often have enough let material left over for two or more Chapters when it comes time to upload, and so sometimes I upload multiple Chapters on the same day. I also tend to upload them whenever I want, which is generally as soon as I've written and edited them. That said, I can understand if some people might want a more consistent upload schedule as well as a definite break between Chapters. What I'm proposing is a regular upload schedule of just one Chapter a week. If enough people show interest in this, then I'd be willing to consider implementing it. Otherwise, I'll just keep doing what I've been doing._

 _With that said, here's hoping you enjoy this Chapter. This one and the next few are going to be a bit... unorthodox. They'll be written in a First Person POV from a character that hasn't gotten that much focus until now, but hopefully, you'll learn a lot more about her by the time this arc's done. If this little experiment works out, I might do more of these sorts of Chapters in the future, though by no means would it be a regular thing. Again, hope you enjoy!_

* * *

 **Tekno's Journal, October 1st, 2017 MC**

I suppose I had better get started then. Hello there everyone! Not that everyone is reading this, but one can never be too careful. In any case, with things settling down a tad, I believe now is as decent a time as any to start writing a proper journal. Not that it would be my first. I have learned from experience that writing down my thoughts allows me to think more coherently than I could attempting to sort everything out verbally. I guess that is just how I operate. This is always something I continue to have to tell myself.

In any case, quite a lot has happened over the last few weeks. After Sonic and the others returned from Green Hill, it was clear that a fair amount had occurred while they were gone. As for the rest of us, we had gotten lucky. For whatever reason, Robotnik had seen fit not to deploy any attacks on the rest of the kingdom whatsoever. As for why this is, I believe that he's gathering and accumulating his forces while also fully renovating Mobotropolis, and perhaps performing some renovations on the city's populace as well. I do hope that I am wrong about this. I truly do.

Still, one must take advantage of every opportunity. With the time given to us, we have managed to transform the center of Knothole forest into a thriving base of operations. Of course, none of this would be possible under normal circumstances, but as things stand, we possess the two fastest things alive as well as a number of heavy hitters. Evidentially, this includes one of our newest recruits Cream. Normally, we would not subject a child to such hard labor, but not only was she capable of it, she was grateful for something to do. Something to get her mind off of everything else I suppose. Speaking of Cream, we have also managed to develop that device Tails spoke of. With his help, we were able to create a device that could mask Cheese's energy signature, and in pratically no time at all. I believe he may turn out to truly be something special, given a year or two.

In any case, thanks to all of them, as well as some additional help from Harvey Who, we now have a variety of different buildings and facilities available. We possess houses, warehouses, a laboratory, a workshop, a command center, and even a medical bay, as well as anything else we would need. And thanks to Harvey's endless amount of connections, we were able to secure a generator in practically no time at all.

Speaking of Harvey, he has also been able to create a variety of supply routes with the various villages in the kingdom, as well as arrange comprehensive information networks. If we need so much as a pin, we will get it, and if someone drops a pin, we will hear it. I used to drop pins all the time when I was a child. I couldn't tell you why I did it. I just did it. It is something I still haven't been able to wrap my head around to this day. And I wish I could.

With everything secure, that just left the final step, which was to build new weapons and tools for everyone who didn't have any special abilities of their own. We've come up with some most wonderful inventions, and now all that is left is to build them. That said, this is not the only area we seek to improve on.

It was three days ago. Rotor and I were discussing plans for a weapon of my own in the workshop. I will be spending much of my time in the lab, but there will no doubt be instances when I will have no choice but to take to the field, and I must be ready for that. Some say that I put too much thought into these sorts of matters. That I tend to overcomplicate things; that I do things that are completely unnecessary. To which I must say, I am not over-complicating anything of the sort. If being adequately concerned about such matters is considered an oddity, then I shall be as odd as they like. Which, despite my best efforts, I am more often than not.

In any case, Bunnie had come walking into the lab. Rotor had called her there, preparing to ask her something that he saw fit to deem 'most serious.' Speaking of being serious, it was then I decided I probably should have removed that 'Kick Me' note someone had taped to his back. Complete with a smiley face that looked as though it were begging for me to give him a swift kick to his posterior. I supposed that there were some people who got off on that sort of thing, (on being kicked, not sticking 'Kick Me' notes onto another,) but it was more likely that whoever stuck it there did so merely because it would be good for a laugh.

Although, and you may be shocked to hear this, but I could not blame them. Even with Eggman having taken a powder, the situation is still somewhat grave. As far as we know, we could die at any time. In the face of such horrors, antics such as this were merely a way of staying sane. Suicide may be painless, but I don't believe anyone wishes to commit it. And if this helps keep them from doing so, then who are we to put a stop to it?

Regardless, Rotor called Bunnie, gesturing her to take a seat. She refused, but the offer was still appreciated. "Thanks, Rote', but I figure I'll stand. Sides, it's not like these things ever tucker out any." She raised a leg and gently shook it in the air as if to emphasize this fact.

"Suit yourself," said Rotor. "Anyway, the reason I asked you over is because, well, this might be hard to ask, given your situation and all, but…"

"But? Come on now, sugar, no need to be shy. Whatever you've gotta say, you don't got to worry none. Now, you gonna spit it out or not?"

"Okay. Let me get right to the point. Lately, we've started developing weapons and gear and whatever else for everyone who needs them. Not all of us will be in the field that often, but we've still got to be prepared. Mind you, we did get set back a bit."

"Really now? How come?"

At the moment, I had been sitting at a desk and working on ideas for my own weapon, but it was then that I felt I might as well chip in. "Someone lodged a banana in a laser blaster yesterday. It wasn't long after that that it blew up right in our faces. Literally."

"My stars!" Bunnie placed a hand to her gaping mouth. Apparently, she had yet to get used to the current state of affairs. I suppose I should have been thankful that she hadn't felt to feel the need to try and sell a desk to the black market. Manic was responsible for that one.

Rotor turned ever so slightly, his body now positioned in just such a way that Bunnie was barely able to make out the 'kick me' sign. Much to her amusement. "Right," said Rotor. "Stuff like that's been happening more and more over the last week or so."

"You mean like slappin' a 'kick me' sign on your back?"

Rotor raised an eyebrow. He didn't want to believe it, and yet, there was some small part of him that knew it was true. When he reached around to remove it, he wasn't surprised in the least. "Yeah. That."

"Hey, people gotta keep themselves busy somehow."

"And sane," I said. "In times like these, this is just how some people cope. Not that it doesn't give some of us migraines."

Rotor tossed the note into the nearest waste bin. "Maybe, but you'd think they'd have the decency to keep that sort of stuff out of the lab. But anyway, weapons. Everyone without powers is getting something, but there was someone I was hoping to give an upgrade instead."

Judging by the expression on her face, Bunnie knew where this was heading, and yet she could not help but feign ignorance. I must admit, I am guilty of committing such acts myself. When there is something I do not wish to do or when I do not want to do something that I have interest in, I on occasion act as though I do not know anything at all. Which could not be further from the truth.

"You don't mean…"

"You got it. Bunnie, you're strong, I'll give you that. But this is a war we're fighting. 'Kick me' notes and exploding bananas aren't going to change that. And we need everyone as strong as they can be. Now, you're tough as is, but if you let me, I can throw in some real bells and whistles that will easily make you that much stronger. Shortfuse will be eating your dust. But it's got to be your choice."

Bunnie stood there, stiff as a post. It was entirely possible that Rotor had come on too strong. I know this from experience. Years ago, I would quite often appear to be far too 'into' something or another, or be so gung-ho about whatever point I was trying to make that I was not considerate enough to whoever I was attempting to present my case to. That said, Rotor was trying, as I often did and still do. But I believe that he may have overdone it nonetheless.

Bunnie wasn't quite sure what else to say. That is until she was. "So, what? You want to mutilate my body even though it's been through the ringer already, is that it? You want to turn me into some jacked up, superpowered cyborg switchblade? Because if that's what you wanna do, then you're out of your damn mind."

"Bunnie—"

But she wasn't done. She lifted up her arm and held it in midair for all to see, as though it were a display piece. "THEY DID THIS TO ME! They took me and turned more than half of me into some cyborg freak of nature! And you want to make it WORSE?! Hell, for all I know, there might still be some chance to reverse it! There might still be—!"

"BUNNIE!" Rotor stood tall and puffed out his chest. He was usually a rather amiable fellow, but he wasn't afraid to lay down the law if he felt he had to. Or when certain individuals were blowing things out of proportion. In any case, this, at last, managed to bring Bunnie's tirade to a screeching halt, enough for Rotor to tell her something that he should have told her in the first place. At least in my honest opinion.

"Bunnie. I hate to tell you this. I really do. But it's just not possible.'

Bunnie couldn't believe her ears. "You can't be serious."

"Look. I've been doing some research on the roboticizer. Turns out that Eggman wasn't the original designer. Instead, it was one Uncle Chuck."

"Say that again?"

"Uncle Chuck was responsible for building the first roboticizer," I said. "It was designed to preserve the terminally ill and the gravely injured until they could find proper cures and treatments. Unfortunately, there were two most noticeable roadblocks."

"'Roadblocks'?"

"Chuck meant well, but the device had some serious design flaws," said Rotor. "The big one was that it suppressed the subject's emotions, leaving them lifeless husks. It was like having a lobotomy. And it would have made it so much easier to reprogram you if someone like Eggman got hold of you"

"The second flaw," I said, "and the one most relevant to your situation, is that Chuck was unable to revert those roboticized to their original forms. Thankfully, he only tested the process on non-mobian rats and similar animals, but the fact was that once one was roboticized, they could not change back."

Bunnie stood there, her mouth gaping, as though all paths to the future suddenly led to a one-way street. And it didn't seem like one she wanted to walk down. "My stars. So you're saying that I'm stuck like this? For good? I mean, I kind of figured as much, but I thought that maybe, just maybe—"

"Sorry, Bunnie," said Rotor. "We could try and run some tests ourselves, see if we could come up with something, but there's no guarantee we could come. Chuck is one of the most brilliant scientists there is. If he couldn't figure out a way to reverse it, I don't know who else could."

Bunnie didn't seem to know what to think. If I were in her situation, I would not be sure if I would know what to think either. To know that no matter what, that in all likelihood, this would be the remainder of your existence. Then again, perhaps in some small way, I do.

Just then, I wanted to tell Bunnie that everything would be okay, that it would be alright, but something was holding me back. Something that had always held me back. Something I could never explain, other than what the doctors had told me. It was heartwrenching. It always had been. To be able to want to say something so desperately and yet be unable to do so, and to not be sure why. It was like being trapped within some steel husk and unable to crawl your way out. I suppose I also knew how Shortfuse felt, to some small extent.

Bunnie stared at her hand. She looked at it as though it were some unknowable alien monstrosity from the stars as if it couldn't possibly be part of her. Like she was looking at it for the first time. Impossible, and yet, there it was.

"So. That's it then. This is all I'm gonna be."

"Bunnie—"

"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!"

And all that Rotor and I could do was stand there in silence. What else could we do? As for Bunnie, it only an instant later that she realized her mistake, her eyes widening in dawning comprehension. "Oh, Rotor. Tekno. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"It's okay, Bunnie," said Rotor. "Maybe I could have used a bit more tact."

"No, Rote', that's okay. I just, I gotta think about this. Really think. Just… please understand."

"Not a problem. Just let me know when you've sorted things out, okay?"

"Sure thing, Rote'. And thanks." She then ran off down the pathway of dirt, heading for the village center. Wherever else she was off to, she needed to think. That was only fair. And I supposed I could use some thinking as well.


	27. A Day In The Life of Tekno, Part 2

Much of the rest of the day seemed somewhat uneventful. Well, at least compared to Bunnie's little outburst at the lab. I continued to work on my blueprints in my black and red striped sweater while Rotor and Porker worked on the other weapons, and I also scheduled an appointment for Shortfuse. That said, everyone needs to eat, and so around noon, we were all headed down to the mess hall for lunch. But it was after we made our way there that it began to sink in that for the duration of our stay in Knothole, things would be somewhat strange. Like a bad sitcom from Starlight City, I suppose. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The mess hall was not anything particularly fancy. In fact, it reminded me somewhat of the cafeteria aboard the Armada. It was a small yet wide rectangular building, made out of mahogany with cement for the kitchen. There were several long rows of tables stretching from end to end, and a small square peeked into the kitchen on the left side. What was important was that it was able to hold the large amount of Freedom Fighters amassed within its' halls, as well other personnel such as Intelligence Director Harvey Who, Doctor Quack, along with their respective staff. Councilor Rosie was there as well, enjoying a warm drink of nutmeg.

Everyone else had already gotten their lunch from the look of things. Myself and Rotor got ourselves a couple of BLT's and walked over to the table farthest to the right. Porker had already arrived there ahead of us, and as we started to come over, he gestured for me to sit down next to him.

Any number of thoughts starting racing through my mind. Why did he want me to sit down next to him specifically? Was he trying to get something out me? Was he attempting to make sure someone else didn't sit next to him instead? Or was it possible he merely thought that sitting next to him was as good a place as any? In retrospect, it was probably the latter. I tend to overthink things more often than not, even if most aren't aware that I am doing so. It's a most distressing habit.

I sat next to him on the bench, though I made sure to keep a small amount of distance between us. I don't always respond well to physical contact. Sad but true. Rotor sat across from me, as he always did.

Porker took a forkful of salad. He considered himself, and was, a vegetarian. Eating pork, even from non-Mobians, only served to make him sick to his stomach, and so he always respectfully declined. "So, it's all coming together isn't it?" He looked at everyone seated together in the mess hall, as though this was a scenario he could scarcely have imagined a month ago. "Who would've thought we'd already have all of this ready in just three weeks?"

"That's what happens when you've got a bunch of superpowered freaks under the same roof." Rotor took a chomp out of his BLT, savoring every bite. And as bits of bacon dropped down onto Rotor's plate, all Porker could do was squirm like wriggling insect. "Oh, sorry Porker."

"It's okay. It just reminds me why I'm a vegetarian, that's all."

"No problem. But seriously, we'd still be sleeping under the stars and whacking rabbits on the head if it weren't for everyone here."

"Yeah." Porker mixed around the salad with his fork before taking another bite. "Though sometimes, you gotta wonder why we're here. I know, that's not something I should be saying. After all, I'm partly the reason we're in this mess. If I hadn't signed on to Robotnik's byline like a pasty, then—"

I had been about to take a bite of my BLT when Porker began to start assailing himself with self-inflicted guilt. To be honest, it was something of a habit of his. "Porker." I looked hard into his eyes and his into mine. He doubtless began to wonder what the reason for this sudden staring contest was, though he would not have to wonder long.

"You can't blame yourself," I said. "You could not possibly have known Eggman's true intentions. How could you have? Besides, if you are going to see fit to blame yourself, then I might as well do the same. I am just as guilty as you are."

"Ah, geez." Porker looked away and rubbed the back of his neck as if he had completely forgotten that he had been far from alone in this. "I'm sorry, Tekno. It's just, I didn't ask for this. All I wanted was to accomplish something for a change. To do something worthwhile. To maybe, just maybe, make a difference. And all I did was help an oversized poultry product take over a whole city. I accomplished something alright. Sometimes, I can't help but wonder what it was all for."

"Hey, bud," said Rotor, "no need to beat yourself up over it. I was trying to work for Eggman too. If I'd got there even a week earlier, he would've used me the same way. Besides, we've got bigger fish to fry. Like making those weapons so we can all kick Eggman's arse. And maybe trying to figure out how to nullify that forcefield while we're at it."

It was then that something occurred to me. "Rotor."

"Yeah, Tekno?" He took another a mouthful out of his BLT. I tried to make eye contact, but it is sometimes hard for me to do so. Though I believe I managed well enough.

"You never did tell us what you were up to before coming here. Thought from my recollection, I remember you mentioned something about a tribe. I do not wish to come across as rude or disrespectful, but if you could tell us a bit more about that…"

Rotor paused mid-swallow, as if the very mention of his past from someone other than himself was anathema. "Well, I mean, sure, I guess. It's just not something I really talk about. Or that I WANT to talk about."

"Very well then. I'll go first."

Rotor's eyes went wide, as if he couldn't quite believe what he was hearing. Nonetheless, it was true. I didn't talk about my past often either, but while I used to have misgivings about doing so, as of the last few years, it's more often than not been due more to the opportunity not presenting itself than anything else. I do not talk about it at every given moment, but when it's appropriate, I do not mind, or at least not overly so. Sometimes I wonder just when it was I managed to come to terms with everything in my past. Of just who I am. What I am. In fact, maybe I haven't. Perhaps talking about it with other makes it that much easier to manage, to take it all in. Who's to say?

"Hey, you don't have to have to do that…"

"He's right, Tek'." Porker put down his fork on a napkin next to his bowl. Now was not the time to stuff his face in, or so he probably thought. "If you don't want to talk about it—"

I put up a feathery green hand as if to say what I was just about to say. "It's alright Porker. It's fine. Besides, this would not be the first time."

Porker almost couldn't believe it. "Come again?"

I suppose the first occasion on which I told my sordid tale was to a friend back in college in Starlight City. That was when I started to get myself together, as it were. In any case, it was time to get started. "I suppose I should start with the Armada. Or the Battle Bird Armada as they call themselves. The Armada is a group of avian Mobians that soar through the skies of Mobius on their battleship. It is, of course, called the Armada."

"Not very imaginative, is it?" said Rotor.

"Not especially so, particularly when they have an entire fleet or armada of smaller airships accompanying it. Most Mobians with feathers are or were part of this Armada, with certain individuals such as Harvey or Doctor Quack being exceptions."

"That reminds me," said Porker. "Didn't Chirps say something about being in the Armada?"

"Indeed Chirps did. And Chirps wants some of that bargain-bin salad with some extra croutons, if Porker isn't gonna bother to eat his slop." Porker looked up to see just who was making such bold proclamations, but he did not have to look far. Still dressed in his black leather jacket and blue jeans, Chirps was looming over Porker, eyeing that salad with a literal bird's eye before sitting down next to him. "Hey there. Couldn't help but overhear you starting storytime over here and figured I'd join in. What we doing today? Randolph the Rednosed Raincheck?"

"Okay, one. This is my salad, and I am not giving it up. Just so we understand each other. And two, that is REALLY starting to get old."

"What's starting to get old? I mean, I'm certainly not getting old. Hell, I'm NEVER gonna get old, and that's a fact. Same with disco. Keeping the dream alive!"

"Oy, whatever. You were saying, Tekno?"

I resumed my tale after it had been so rudely interrupted by the class clown. "In any case, the Armada has existed for generations. Most of us Armadians aren't even sure what the Armada's true purpose is, other than attempting to find our sacred ancestral home: Babylon."

"You know," said Chirps, "I'd make a joke about that other Babylon which everyone says was a curse from Gaea to mix up everyone's languages as some kind of divine punishment, but seeing as I spent a decent chunk of my life searching for that thing with the rest of the Armada, I guess I might as well show 'em some sort of respect. It's only fair."

Rotor took another chomp of his BLT. "Just when you were with the Armada anyway, Chirps? You can't be a day over forty. Must have been a ways back when you were still running with them."

"You could say that." I could not help but listen carefully to Chirps, and everything I could hear only served to tell me that there was so much more to that sentence than Chirps would care to admit. Regret, sadness, loss. And perhaps a tinge of remorse? Regardless, unless I were to present anything concrete, everyone else would likely tell me that I was jumping to conclusions. It would not have been the first time.

"Long story short," he said, "me and them just didn't see eye to eye, so I took off soon as I got the chance. What about you, Tekno? Figure it must've been the same way with you, right?"

"Not exactly. My parents did not have anything against the armada. One was a scientist, the other an engineer. Which is likely where I gained my disposition for my professions from."

"Sounds like people I'd want to meet," said Rotor.

"Perhaps. My parents could be somewhat strict, but they still cared for me dearly. So much so that if it came to it, they would risk their lives for me. And as it so happened, that was just what they did"

"Wait, hold on a minute," said Porker. "You never mentioned anything about this, Tek'."

"You never asked, did you?" Porker couldn't help but shrug his shoulders, admitting that this was, in fact, the case. Again, I do not have a problem talking about my past if I feel it is appropriate. But it isn't something I bring up out of the blue. If Porker never asked, then was nothing I could do.

"In any case," I said, "according to my parents, I did not seem too out of the ordinary at first. A bit less eye contact than what most consider to be normal, perhaps. Somewhat more unruly than most children, maybe. But all of that changed when I began to do something most would not expect, especially out of a child."

"What, stripping naked and doing the hula while belting out a saucy musical number?" said Chirps. "Or maybe that's just me?" By this point, everyone had learned to mostly ignore Chirps when he was Chirps. Because Chirps being Chirps was merely Chirps. And if Chirps were not Chirps, then he would not be Chirps.

"Not exactly. I began speaking in my own language. An entirely made up language. And no, Chirps, before you state the obvious, I was not speaking in the Abyssal tongue."

Chirps let out a low, cool whistle. I suppose he couldn't help but be amazed. "Wow, cutting to the quick. You know you're turning me on just now, right?"

"Whoa," said Rotor. "That's not something you see every day."

"Same," said Porker. "Your parents must've been freaking the hell out. I know I would've."

"Somewhat," I said. I took another bite of BLT before washing it down with a glass of water, quick as could be and matter of fact. "They took me to the Armada's resident psychologist, and they discovered that I possessed something that no-one outside of said psychologist had ever seen."

"'Possessed something?" said Chirps. "Just what are we talking about here? Drugs? Crack? Cocaine? Demons from the Ninth Dimensions that want to tear your intestines out and wear them for a hat?"

"Asbergers syndrome."

All of three of them couldn't quite believe their ears. Even Chirps was taken aback. "Uh, wow. Um, uh, well. Sorry about that. I mean, if I had known…"

"Don't worry, Chirps," I said. "You couldn't have known."

"I guess that goes for me too," said Porker. "I'm so sorry Tekno. I knew you had something, but…"

"Count me surprised too," said Rotor. "Still hella fascinating. I don't know much about aspergers, but it's some sort of neurological condition that messes with the brain, right?"

"In a sense. Aspergers is just one facet of autism which can affect the brain in a variety of ways. It is much like a spectrum compared to anything else. In any case, Aspergers tends to be somewhat more predictable. Generally speaking, things that come naturally to most such as social mores, the rules of society, how one is expected to act; we are usually not able to learn these things as most do, and so have to be told them point blank. Even basic eye contact was a skill I had to learn from scratch."

"Having to rebuild yourself from scratch, huh?" said Chirps. "I can relate."

"The second you can relate to anyone who doesn't have the sense of humor of a second-rate comedian is the day pigs fly," said Porker. "And I'll the be the first to know." He then turned to face me. That look on his face something I would never forget. For the longest time, it was something I could not bear to face. It was filled with pity. Sheer unrelenting pity. And even now, three days later, it still makes me sick to my stomach. "I'm so sorry Tekno. If I'd only known…"

"Fascinating," said Rotor. "So how did you get to where you are now?"

"Seriously? She's pouring out her life story here and all you can say is 'fascinating'?"

"What else am I supposed to say?" said Rotor. "Besides, I don't think she wants your pity. Right Tekno?"

He had hit the nail right on the head. "Pity? What—"

"That's enough," I said. "From the both of you.

"Lady's right you know," said Chirps. "One of you's being too insensitive, and the other one isn't being sensitive enough. Seems to me she's being sandwiched between one figurative pighead and a literal one."

"Excuse me?" said Porker.

"That's enough!" Generally speaking, I am capable of retaining my calm in nearly any situation. Of course, I wasn't always this way. I used to throw a fit at just about any situation imaginable But one day, I simply… stopped. Stopped being angry. Stopped being upset, at least most of the time. And in most cases, I couldn't imagine myself being any other way. But as I've learned since, there are some situations in which allowing yourself to get just the slightest upset can be most beneficial. Case in point, my 'outburst', if you can call it that, was enough to get those three to be quiet for once in their lives.

"Look," I said. "Porker, I appreciate the sentiment, but Chirps is right. I do not need your pity, and I do not want it. No offense."

Porker wasn't sure what to say. He had thought he had been caring, understanding. And I suppose in his own way, he was. Part of me believed that I should appreciate that, and another part of me did. But another part of me did not care to be looked down on or treated differently than anyone else, just because of a diagnosis. I thought that I had gotten over this long ago, and I still believe that for the most part, I have. But I would be lying to myself if I were over it entirely. That should be evident enough.

"Uh, sorry, Tekno." Porker tugged the collar of his white undershirt, starting to sweat like a pig (which he was, of course,) as he became hot under the collar. (Yes, I am just as capable of anyone else of a pun now and then. Thank you very much.) He began to stutter, losing his nerve as he often did when placed in a compromising situation. And yet, there was nonetheless still something cute about him. Not that I ever thought much about it.

"I, uh, I didn't, I didn't mean to, that is, um-"

"Say it, don't spray it," said Chirps."

"Uh, yeah. Again. Sorry, Tekno. I was just trying to…"

"I know, Porker," said Tekno. "It's alright. Thank you."

"Then I guess it's time for my apology," said Rotor. "Sorry, Tekno. First Bunnie and now you. Sometimes I'm so concerned with the big picture that I just can't see what's right in front of me. Does that make any sense?"

"Perfectly. That said, this has all been running a bit long for my tastes." Indeed it was. When I'm talking with only a few people that I've known for a while, I can speak like anyone else for some time, or close to it. But I still have my limits. At this point, I needed to stop. I just had to. And so for the rest of my tale, I gave the abridged version.

"To make a long story short, my parents believed that the Armada wasn't the best place for me to receive proper care and attention. As it turned out, there was also another group of rouges who were planning on leaving that same night. It was serendipity. With my parents' scientific and engineering knowhow combined with their particular talents, they were able to make their escape. They and the rouges went their separate ways, and after that, they settled down with me in Starlight City. Growing up there was an unpleasant experience. And it's not something I particularly wish to talk about just now."

"I understand, Tekno," said Porker. "Growing up was rough for me too."

"In any case, after many years of trial and error, and I mean that most sincerely, I managed to become the person I am today. But I still wanted to prove myself. To show that I was just as capable as anyone else. To make my mark on the world."

"And that led you falling in with old Eggface," said Chirps.

"Yes. Which is something I will regret for the rest of my days."

"Hey," said Rotor, "don't beat yourself up about it. Like I said, I could've wound up in the same situation."

"He's right, Tek'," said Porker. "I mean, he duped me too. Don't think too hard about it."

"Thank you," I said. "And I know. But that doesn't mean it is something I'm happy about."

"Same. But it's just something I'll have to live with. And I think you need to do the same."

"In any case, I believe I've managed to cover the essentials. Your turn, Rotor."

Rotor couldn't help but smile. "I guess it is. Well, I suppose it all began back when I was just a kid growing up in the tundra—"

It was then that we all heard a rather loud 'splat.' A very squishy, very wet 'splat.' Myself, Rotor, and Porker all turned our heads to see where said 'splat' had come from. As it turned out, the source of this 'splat' was sitting right next to us. Against all odds, this 'splat' had come from, of all things, Chirp's face. And it was courtesy of a tomato that was now splattered all across his feathery visage.

Chirps was stone-faced. Just looking at him, you could not tell if he was feeling cold, indifferent apathy, or was instead slowly simmering to a low boil. One thing that was for certain was that he staring right across to the other table. And there, standing atop said table with her arm outstretched was none other than Sticks. Her eyes were crazed and her nostrils were flaring. It wasn't as though she were some wild, dangerous beast ready and waiting to kill, far from it. Rather, she instead seemed to be nothing short of a crazed paranoid manic seeking to lob a bomb into the facility. Though seeing as she didn't have any bombs in her possession, a tomato would have to do. And there was another tomato waiting right in her other hand.

"TOMATO JUICE FOR THE TOMATO GOD! THE TOMATO GOD DEMANDS FRESH TOMATO JUICE SPILLED ON THE BLOOD OF A GIANT MOBIAN CHICKEN, LEST THE TOMATO GOD TURN US ALL INTO A THICK, SAUCY TOMATO PASTE AND BAKE US IN THE FIERY OVENS OF THE ABYSS! AND THIS RAIN OF TOMATO SAUCE MUST CONTINUE ON ALL THAT THE SERVANT OF THE TOMATO GOD SURVEYS! That and I was bored. A girl's gotta have fun somehow. TOMATO JUICE FOR THE TOMATO GOD! BRING IT, PEOPLE!

Chirps just sat there. Motionless. Lifeless. Inert. Everyone waited for him to so much as move a muscle, to say anything at all. And then, just when everyone began to assume that he had for whatever reason become a vegetable, he screamed one very simple word right at the top of his lungs that was sure to turn the entire messhall into a warzone.

"FOODFIGHT!"


	28. A Day In The Life of Tekno, Part 3

"FOODFIGHT!"

Now he'd done it. Before anyone could so much as blink, Chirps flung Porker's salad ("HEY!") at Sticks, with everyone's eyes on the two of them to see whether or not Chirps' declaration would hold true. She dodged it with ease as though she had been evading attempts on her life for years, which was most likely the case. And, covered with ranch dressing, it landed squarely on Shortfuse's face. Or perhaps I should say helmet.

Granted, Shortfuse did not need to eat. In fact, he could not eat. But despite sitting at the far end of a table and evidently wanting nothing to do with the rest of us, there must have been some part of him that did not want to be left out. That wanted to feel 'normal'. It was something I have had a considerable amount of experience dealing with. And so, here he was, sitting in the mess hall despite not needing to be there, merely to have some sense of normalcy in his life. And I strongly suspect that as his bright red eyes glared at Sticks, he was strongly regretting his decision.

Things only escalated from there. One salad from Chirps led to a bowl of tomato soup from Shortfuse. One bowl of tomato soup from Shortfuse led to a plate of spaghetti with extra tomato sauce from Sonia. And a plate of spaghetti with extra tomato sauce from Sonia culminated in a chili-dog pizza with extra tomato sauce beyond mention from Sonic the Hedgehog.

And that was when it all exploded.

Half of the room was throwing streaks and tossing drinks, and the other half was hurling sporks like throwing knives, nevermind the literal mustard bombs. For all intents and purposes, a World War had exploded within thirty seconds, with the only saving grace being that a small messhall served to contain it.

Porker ducked under the table, shaking like a nervous wreck and covering his head with his tray, stuttering all the while. "O-Oh, come on! I-I d-didn't s-sign up for t-this! G-get me out of h-here!"

"Come on!" I said. Chirps was too busy being caught up in the mayhem of it all. Instead, I motioned to Rotor, himself having the common sense not to get caught in this farce, to crawl under the table with Porker. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw several other such sane individuals as Harvey Who, Counselor Rosie, or Doctor Quack do the same, along with Cream and her mother. Cream looked as though she were about to break down into tears. Under normal circumstances, I would consider such behavior to be most odd, but given what she had gone through, I could not blame her.

Having just dodged a carton of milk and successfully ducked and covered, I touched Porker on the shoulder to get his attention. He yelped as though someone had shot him through the spleen, but he quickly managed to compose himself. Or at least as much as he could. "Oh. Tekno. I-I guess I wasn't the only who thought this was a good idea, huh?"

"Indeed," I said. "Follow me, Porker. We are getting out of here."

"Huh? But…" It was then that the wheels in his brain began to set themselves in motion. That was something Porker should have been commended for. He had a habit of catching on before you knew it. It certainly saved me some time. In this case, the plan was to crawl under the table and make our way to safety. Given how long it was, it should not have been too much trouble to assume that we'd end up right at the hall's entrance. "Oh, right. But are you sure it's going to work?"

"As long as we don't have the sudden urge to stand up like a yard-rake," said Rotor, "it should. Besides, it's not as though we're the only ones with that idea." Indeed. Across the hall, Harvey, Quack, and Rosie were following suit. Cream was almost too scared to move, but with some urging from Vanilla, she was starting to make her way across, one inch at a time.

"Once we're through," I said, "we alert Sally. Assuming she hasn't already heard this ruckus, or that Mina has not had the decency to speed out of here or bring her over, she should be on her way here from her cabin shortly." This was true. Sally was one of the only ones not present for lunch, instead choosing to spend her time going over the intel that Harvey had given her just yesterday. Or at least that was what she told us. With all that had been going on, it would not have surprised me if she was using this time to grieve. It used to be something I could scarcely imagine, but as with many things, I have learned better. There were times where I wondered if there wasn't anything I did not have to learn the hard way.

In any case, we needed to move it. I motioned for Porker and Rotor to follow, and they inched forward on their knees as fast as they could. Up above, we could still hear the uproar and calamity. Shattered glass, spilled coffee, splattered whip cream pies. The only silver lining was that everyone had the decency not to use their powers beyond Sonic (or I assume it was him; it was rather hard to see what was going from under there,) dishing out chilidog missile upon chilidog missile. And multitudes of footsteps still battered the table above us.

As we neared the exit, I could hear Sticks roaring throughout the mess hall, issuing declaration after declaration to all within earshot. "MORE TOMATO SAUCE FOR THE TOMATO GOD! ALL SHALL BE COVERED IN SAUCE OR JUICE OR WHATEVER OR ALL SHALL PERISH! Hey, blue guy, can ya throw a chilidog over here? I'm getting hungry. A girl's gotta' eat you know. TOMATOES FOR THE TOMATO GOD!"

After what seemed like a century, we managed to reach the end of the table. We clamored out from underneath and, making sure to duck, hightailed it out of the war zone. We slammed the door behind us as though shutting the gate to hell and laid back against the outer walls of the mess hall, taking a moment to catch our breath as though we had barely managed to escape with our lives.

"Oh Gaea!" said Porker. "Just… oh, Gaea! We are NEVER going through that again!"

"Eh, I don't know," said Rotor. "Might've been fun."

Porker could not help but slowly lift his head up before staring at Rotor as though he had been touched in the head. And I could not blame him. "You're insane, you know that?"

Just then, the door slammed back open as Harvey, Quack, Rosie, Cream, and Vanilla all barreled out of the mess hall, shutting the door behind them much the same as us.

"Gaea!" said Quack. The duck smoothed out his white doctor's coat and adjusted his stethoscope, attempting to keep himself looking as professional as possible. "Who had the bright idea to start something like this with this crowd? I'm a doctor, not a babysitter!"

"Oh, I don't know!" said Rosie. The woodchuck's red and white dress fluttered in the breeze as rays of sunlight reflected off of her large, sharp buckteeth. "In a way, it was almost exhilarating. Besides, everyone needs to unwind somehow."

"Regardless," said Harvey, "they are making a mess of the messhall. Though at least you could argue they're at least making it fit the name." As for Vanilla and Cream, all the former could do was the comfort the latter in her arms. Even if no-one was in any real peril, it was still too much for Cream given her current situation. Poor girl.

I was about to call out to Harvey and the others and let them know we were here, but it was then that the women we were waiting for made her grand appearance. By this point, everyone in the mess hall was making such a ruckus that you would have to have been deaf not to hear it. Looking at Sally and her furrowed brow and clenched fists, it was clear beyond certainty that she had. And as she marched towards us down the village path, it was also clear that there would be hell to pay.

We didn't even have to explain the situation to Sally. All she knew was that someone was causing a ruckus in the mess hall, and as she threw open the door and stormed through, that was all she needed to know. She picked up a spare pot and pan that had been tossed onto the floor and banged them together like a wind-up monkey smashing two cymbals together. It was quite the racket.

At first, there was nothing. They all continued to lob meatballs at one another and spill their drinks on top of anyone who so much as looked at one another, and no-one seemed to care about much else. But as Sally continued to make herself heard, the chaos and confusion slowly began to cease. By the time Sally finished, she had utterly quelled it, like a mighty magician calming the storm.

Everyone stood in place like a statue. Even though half of the tables had been turned over and the benches had been scattered as though as a tornado had blown through, and even though they were all covered in filth of their own making, all of them began to look at Sally as though she were the reaper. It was as if their lives were now in her hands. One look in her eyes was enough to tell this may well have been the case.

"Alright. I want to know who started this, and I want to know NOW. Because I can tell you right now, unless someone comes forward right this instant, you're all stuck doing waste management duty for the next year. Are we perfectly clear?!" Indeed she was. Only seconds had passed before everyone pointed at Sticks, as though they were selling her out to save themselves from being burned at the stake. Stick had just been about to hurl another tomato, but as Sally's eyes drilled into her she started to believe it might be best if she slowly, gently placed the tomato down on the table. Which she did.

"Uh, hey! How ya doing? Oh, nearly forgot. You still got those eels I put in your baththub? Cause let me tell you, they taste delicious! They're also dirty rotten SOB's that don't know when to leave well enough alone. Figures it gives me the right to eat 'em. Fair's fair."

Sally had had enough. Granted, I did not think this was the correct course of action, but it was rare that anyone ever listened to me outside of scientific jargon. Not truly. And I would be lying if I said I was completely over this.

Sally stomped over to Sticks and grabbed the tuft of her collar, bringing her furry orange head down to her level. Sticks, for her part, was not sure if she was going to make it out of this alive.

"Listen. I appreciate that you're letting us live here. I really do. But by no means are you going to turn this outfit into a disaster zone! And if you do, I can tell you, you're going to wish you hadn't. Do I make myself clear? AND THAT GOES FOR The REST OF YOU!"

As myself and the others looked into the mess hall via the screen door, it was clear that everyone had gotten the message. Even if it had to be bored into them like a drill.

"Yeesh," muttered Porker. "She's like some scientific anomaly. One look from her and hell freezes over." No sooner than he opened his mouth did Sally shoot a cold icy stare his way, as though she could hear and see all. She could not, of course, but she did a most excellent job of making it appear so.

"Well," said Rotor. "You don't see something like that every day. Anyway, let's get back to the lab. Sides, we don't want to wait for her higness to come out and give Porker and the rest of us the same treatment, do we?"

"Indeed," I said. "That would probably be for the best." Out of the corner of my eye, I could see the princess give Rotor a stinkeye. In that particular instance, there wasn't much harm in a tactical retreat. So retreat we did.

From what I could gather, Sonic and Mina spent the next twenty minutes cleaning up the mess hall and making sure that it shined like a Chaos Emerald. Chaos Emeralds are said to be ancient artifacts created long ago, spoken of only in old legends and fairy tales, though such legends have long circulated throughout the royal family. And they're said to be incredibly shiny. In other words, they were ordered to make the mess hall shine to such an extent that was outright impossible to achieve, even for the two fastest things alive. After all, Chaos Emeralds were supposedly nothing more than a myth. And yet, are not all myths or legends steeped in some level of truth?

In any case, it was time to head back to the lab, though not before Rotor saw fit to uphold his side of the bargain. As we began to walk under the tall, verdant trees, it was then that he started his tale in earnest.

"So. Like I said, I come from a tribe. All the way down in the artic. The Walrus clan's been around for longer than the Acorn Kingdom's been a kingdom, not that it might even be a kingdom for much longer, but you get the idea."

"Hey," said Porker, "don't let Sally catch you saying that. She's been through enough as is. Nevermind the ruckus in the messhall."

"I know. Once again, lack of perspective. My bad."

It was then that the wheels began turning in my head. Rotor didn't seem that different from the others. Then again, neither did I, or at least not when we weren't trapped in a prison cell with no apparent means of escape. And yet, he didn't always seem grasp just when he was somewhat insensitive. Nevermind the odd struggle to make eye contact, the occasional failure to enunciate properly, and other such 'quirks.' I could not be sure, and yet, was it possible that we were the same? Unfortunately, I could not be sure. Or at least not then.

"Anyway," he said, "my tribe's got something of an issue with masculinity. They're a clan of warriors and craftsman. Live by the cudgel, die by the cudgel. Part of that's because they spent centuries warring with the Orca clan as part of some blood feud. Nobody even remembers why everyone started fighting, just that they did."

"Like Julio and Romiet?" I said.

"Exactly. Both clans were fighting each other for so long that they forgot how to do anything else. They've got a truce going on for the time being, but only Gaea knows how long it'll last."

"Well," said Porker, "you don't seem like any kind of barbarian to me. Aside from being strong as a Mobian ox."

Rotor flexed his biceps, though as always, he took no pleasure in it. "Yeah, I know. It's never been something I asked for, to be honest. Though I'd be lying if I said this didn't come in handy every now and then. In any case, I knew from the second I could form a coherent sentence that I didn't want anything to do with being strong for strength's sake, or getting my hands dirty in some pointless war. Thought I guess that makes me a hypocrite."

Rotor adjusted his yellow cap, making sure that it was positioned backward as always. One could never be too careful. "As far back as I could remember, I knew I wanted to make things. I didn't have names for them then, and I wasn't even sure how to build them, but it was still what I wanted to do. Make gadgets, tools, anything. But I couldn't do it there. Not with a tribe that put chest-thumping over doing anything productive or substantial. Or a father who used the same approach with his wife and son."

"I hear you," said Porker. "My parents were sort of the same way. They still cared about me, sure, but they just weren't there. No-one was there." He slowly threw out his arm, gesturing to include the entire settlement, or at least as much as he could. "In fact, everyone here might be the closest thing I've ever had to friends. Gaea, did that get depressing."

"It's okay, Porker," I said. "Actually, I believe it is the same with me. I never had any friends growing up either."

"Same," said Rotor. "Everyone just wanted to play in the snow or go hunting or get into sparring matches, but I wasn't interested in any of that. Well, aside from maybe a good swim every once in a while. That's about it. Give me a wrench or a screwdriver any day."

"I know, right?" said Porker. "Sometimes, it just feels like most people don't get us. Or maybe some of us don't get most people. Maybe it's a bit of both."

"In any case, the second I could, I took off and made my way to civilization. Managed to get myself into Spagonia University after they saw what I could do. According to them, I was a natural. And as for my tribe, I've never looked back."

"I wish I could say the same." Porker sighed, as though a sea of troubles were consuming him and giving a sigh was the only way to struggle against it. I often did the same. "I think about them sometimes, you know? They weren't all that bad. Compared to some parents, they might as well have been Parents of the Year. But I just needed more from them then what I got. Because they didn't give it. I wonder what they'd say now. 'Hey Mom, hey Dad. Guess what, your son got himself caught up in a rebellion on foreign soil. Hope I don't get myself killed. See you soon!' On second thought, maybe it's best they didn't know."

"I feel the same way," said Tekno. "My parents did love me, but if they knew what I was up to, I do not know what they would think."

"My parents wouldn't bother either way," said Rotor. "Well, maybe Mom would. My Dad, not so much."

"In any case," I said, "at least here, we are with people who care. Which is something I could not say a year ago. Literally."

"I believe you," said Porker. "Literally."

"Anyway, you've still got that test to run on Shortfuse, right?" said Rotor. Might wanna pick up the pace."

"Indeed," I said. I then smiled, as though things were at last finally beginning to feel right. Perhaps it was time to show them I wasn't completely powerless after all. I readied myself, taking off my sweater to reveal a purple bra and a multitude of long green feathers underneath. I crouched and spread my feathery arms as though I were getting ready to soar like an eagle. And then, I took flight.

At first, they could not believe their eyes, but one look at my wings and it made perfect sense. This was not something I did often. Soaring through the air like this was magnificent, as though nothing was holding me down, as though I could do anything and go anywhere I wanted. And it felt as though I were betraying myself somehow. As though because I was still in some ways trapped within myself, that allowing myself to feel so free and unbound would cause me to lose sight of who I was. To lose sight of reality. And yet, being in this place, with people I could feel at ease with for perhaps the first time in my life. Well, it just felt right.

Porker and Rotor couldn't help but look dumbfounded. Were they merely amazed at my avian prowess? Or was it something more? Either way, I smiled at them again, though I was not quite sure why. Still aloft, I flew past the the trees, leading Rotor and Porker on as I soared towards the lab with a level of grace and majesty that I was only beginning to learn that I possessed. And it was just the tip of the iceberg.


	29. Track and Field, Part 1

"Grimer? Snively? Anybody? If no-one bothers to answer me this instant, you'll all going to the Scrap Brain Zone!"

Darkness. Darkness, darkness, and more darkness. That was where Eggman found himself. He was trapped in a pitch-black void, and could not see anything except, well, darkness. He lifted his arms up or at least tried. He wasn't even sure if he had them, but he had to at least see if he could still feel them. And he could. So he knew he still had appendages. That was something. But beyond that, he couldn't tell much of anything else.

A spotlight then flashed over him, as though he were suddenly the center of attention. He was sixteen years old, dressed in black slacks and a red t-shirt, much to his shock and horror. "I remember this. I remember…"

Another spotlight then flickered to life. Beneath it was a tall young man dressed in blue jeans and a red and white striped sweater, with a well-combed hair cut. He pushed back his glasses like a lawyer preparing for his case.

"Lucas?" said Eggman. "How—?"

"Order in the court!" Another light flickered on, this time to Eggman's right. Sitting atop a podium was none other than Snively, dressed in a black robe and a white fluffy wig. "Order in the court!" He pounded the podium with his gavel, the sound resounding throughout the void before trailing off into nothingness.

"Snively? Just what are you doing in that getup? And co-conspiring with one of my most hated enemies, no less? Get yourself off of that glorified tree-stump right now, lest you want another dip in the toilet!"

"I'm afraid I'm the one giving the orders now!" Snively grinned like a shark closing in for the kill, and his large, pointy nose didn't do him any favors. "Now, if you don't mind, let us introduce the rest of the jury, shall we?"

Another light flashed in the blackness, this time revealing a tall, gorgeous woman with long, flowing, orange hair and a blue silk dress. Eggman's eyes went wide, as if a great treasure he had long sought to gain but believing he never could have was finally within his grasp. "Lucinda?"

Yet another light. Standing between Carl and Lucinda was a hulking monster of a woman, her pink dress and hat doing nothing to conceal her massive bulk.

"Mama?!"

"Don't you 'mama' me!" she said. "You're the same lousy sack of piss now that you were then! You aren't worthy of being called my son!"

"Mama?"

"She's right you know," said Lucinda. "I"m sorry, Robotnik, but you just don't have what it takes. You're just so ugly and gross and uninteresting, and Lucas is so hot and handsome! Lucas is where it's at."

Eggman was heartbroken, as though his soul had been cut in two. "Lucinda?"

"She's got the right idea, Robuttnik!" said Lucas. "You think some whiny, scared little punk like you could ever win Lucinda's heart? Think again!"

"Well now," said Snively, "I do believe most of the Jury has rendered its' verdict. There's just one more left unaccounted for— oh, I believe I spoke too soon. Here he is!"

Eggman slowly looked behing himself with dread, as though there was some small part of him that knew what was coming. If he squinted, he could almost make out another silhouette in the darkness. One that was all too familiar. "Oh no."

The light flashed on, and standing within was a tall, lanky freak of a man with purple-skin and wild, crazy eyes that did nothing to conceal his insane nature, nor did his well-pressed labcoat. He raised his arms and let out a wild, piercing laugh that one could only hear in their nightmares. Eggman kneeled to the ground, covering his ears and wincing as he tried his best to block it out, but to no avail. He could do nothing. Nothing to stop the laughing. Nothing to stop the insults and the putdowns and how he felt so inferior to anyone and everyone. Nothing at all. Nothing. Nothing…

Eggman rose up from his seat like a rake. He was sitting in his chair in his room, right in front of the golden egg-holder on his table. He looked around. Sure enough, no-one was there. Not Lucas, not Lucinda, not Mama, and certainly not HIM.

He took a moment to let out a few long, deep, heavy breaths. They always did wonders to calm himself. In any event, there was work to do. He got up and headed straight for the door. He reached for the light switch and made ready to turn off the lights, but he thought better. After all, who knew what lurked in the dark? He left the lights on for now, and like a man on a mission made his way to the control room. With any luck, Snively wouldn't be wearing a wig.

* * *

Snively was slumping in his seat in the control room, as usual. He was watching the screen with a considerable lack of interest. He drummed his fingers on the chairs' arms as he observed the various Mobians being put to work rebuilding the city. Once beautiful and majestic homes and towers had become cold, lifeless laboratories and storage facilities. Others were digging up paved city streets, replacing them with gravel roads and large conveyor belts. And several citizens were lined up in front of the central laboratory to await roboticization. Not that it had been an easy task to fix it after that Coyote had damaged the entire system. Still, with the aid of Grimer, they made do.

Snively looked down at his breakfast sitting on his lap. It was a plate of fried eggs, just like mother used to make. How he hated mother. But mother wasn't the only one he hated. The more he looked at it, the more it reminded him of someone he was beginning to feel very strong feelings for. Very strong, nasty feelings for. His hand trembled, and his teeth clenched, and before he could stop it, he found himself wolfing them down and tearing into them as though he were ripping apart human flesh with his bare teeth.

After finishing his meal, Snively pounded his chest and let out a loud burp, as though both his rage and hunger had finally been sated. For one brief moment, he seemed to be at peace.

It wouldn't last long.

"Good morning, Snively."

Snively sprung up in his seat like a rake and spun his chair around to face Eggman, dearly hoping that he had not seen his most peculiar display of expressing one's anger. Not that it would do him any good.

"Did you enjoy your breakfast?"

"Yes, sir. Very much, sir."

"I see. Well, Snively, do you know what I'd like for breakfast this morning?"

"I haven't the foggiest, sir."

"Fried Snively. Which you will be if you continue to 'enjoy' your breakfast in such a manner! Do I make myself perfectly clear?!"

Eggman could see right through Snively, and this Snively knew. Better to play along than get himself roboticized. "Uh, ahem, yes sir! Very sorry, sir! Will never happen again, sir!"

"See that it doesn't. Now, with that out of the way, we have business to attend to. Normally I would have you bring up the morning report, but for now, that can wait. Bring up the file on Marcus Coolete, will you?"

"At once, sir." Snively tapped the keys on the keyboard as though he were casting a spell, like an wizard who was completely devoted to his craft. If only he had a spell for getting rid of Eggman. In any case, he typed in the final necessary commands, and like magic, there was Marcus Coolete. Or at least his file.

Just then, Grimer walked into the room for the morning meeting, and as he did so, he couldn't help a certain someone's name in large letters on the monitor. "Ah, yes, the one who got away. Or at least one of them. Any particular reason you've suddenly taken such an interest in him, Julian?"

Eggman pushed back his glasses, as though he were about to declare checkmate. "Let us say that I've put some considerable investment into him. And I believe it's time for him to start giving us back pay. Now, Snively, there should be a tab labeled 'internal diagnostics.' If you would do the honors?"

Snively wasn't sure what 'honors' he was supposed to be doing, but he supposed he might as well carry them out nonetheless. Snively found the tab. It was sitting in the far-right corner of the screen, as if it were doing its best to hide from anyone who wished to reveal its' contents. And with one click of a button on the control room's command console, Snively did just that.

"Sorry, kid, but visiting hours are over. Kid? You hear me, kid?"

"Hm?" Antione tilted his head, looking up to see Doctor Quack giving him the evil eye. He had been sitting next to his father for so long that he'd almost forgotten his name, or at least he felt that way. For all he knew, it might as well have been 'kid.'

His father was still lying in bed in the back room of the hospital wing. It wasn't much to look at, nor was the wing, but they still had all of the necessities. He was hooked up to a monitor, and while his life signs were stable, there wasn't much sign of him getting better. If he didn't wake up out of that coma soon, what was he supposed to do?

"Oui. Thank you, Doctor. If I may ask…"

"Yes?"

"…what would you say are his chances of recovery?"

"Hard to say." Quack looked at Marcus, almost as if he were looking at a dead man. "He isn't getting worse, but he's not getting better. Though to be honest, he should've."

Antione nearly jolted out of his seat. To be fair, he had been getting somewhat sleepy, but this was almost like being splashed with a pale of ice-cold water. "Come again?"

"Don't get me wrong. There's always the chance the patient may or may not come to with these sorts of things. Even a bonk on the head can be fatal depending on the circumstances. However, while your father did suffer some extensive injuries, as far as I can tell, there was nothing that should have produced a coma. Based on my latest assessment, he should've been up ages ago."

Antione almost couldn't believe his pointy ears. "Then why is he not up?"

"I'm a doctor, not a miracle worker. Sometimes, things happen and we can't explain why. But I can tell you this much. If he doesn't wake up soon, then you're going to have to decide what you'll want to do about him."

Antione slumped into his chair. His legs knocked and his hands fidgeted, as though his very life were on the line. Except it wasn't his life that was at stake here.

"You don't have to decide now," said the Doctor. "But if he doesn't wake up, or we can't figure something out, you're gonna have to make the call. It's up to you. For what it's worth, you've got my sympathies." Quack then walked out of the room. He had patients to attend to. But Antione wasn't very concerned with other patients just now. All he could do was sit in his seat and wonder, would this be it? Was this be how his father's life was going to end? Lying in a hospital bed, growing weak and feeble, without even putting up a fight? Antione may not have been a knight in shining armor, but his father certainly was. And he knew that this would not be the way he wanted to go.

He had to take his mind off of his father somehow. If only for a moment. He thought back to just five hours ago. He pictured him and Bunnie walking to the hospital underneath the beautiful, fiery rays of the setting sun, poking through the leaves of the forest around him. And as he closed his eyes, he could swear he almost began to hear her say…

* * *

 **FIVE HOURS AGO**

"You okay, Ant'?"

"Yes," said Antione, "I am fine." He and Bunnie were walking along the dirt road, passing by house after house as they got closer and closer to the hospital wing. He wrung his hands together, and his teeth began to chatter before he managed to shut them up. "It is just that I worry about my father. Deeply. He is still in a coma, and he is not getting out. And so, I am not sure what I should do about it."

"That's a tough question, sugar. I don't know if I'm one to talk. Both my parents are still trucking, bless their hearts. Or at least I hope so."

"You worry about them too, do you not?"

Bunnie sighed, as though what Antione had said was all too true. "I mean, I'm sure they're alright. They' in Emerald Hill. That's all the way on the other side of the island. No way Eggman's gotten over there."

"But what if he has?"

"Don't even say that I know my folks are okay. They can take care of themselves."

"But you do not know for sure, do you?"

"No. Guess not. But you don't know they ain't alive, do you?"

Antione mussed the yellow toupee sitting atop his head like several well-brushed pieces of hair. "No, but we do not know if it the other way around, do we?"

"No. I guess not."

"Bunnie, I am not trying to make you worry. In fact, I am trying to not make myself worry. Not too much. However, my father had always told me, 'Hope for the best, but expect the worst.' Those words have served me well."

"So, what, you think we should just sit around do nothin'? Wait till my parents have kicked the bucket, is that it?"

"My point is, Bunnie, that we cannot take everything for granted. Nor must we assume that everything will work out for the best. I am terrified at the mere prospect of losing my Father." By this point, Antione's legs were knocking, his heart pounding. If this kept up, he could well have turned into a nervous wreck. "Terrified that no matter what I do, I will still lose him in the end. But there are times when one must accept the inevitable, and do what they must. I am not sure I shall have to just yet, and I pray to Gaea every day that I do not. But if the time comes, there may be nothing else to be done."

"'Accept the inevitable', huh?" Bunnie folded her arms and looked down to the ground, as if something were finally starting to click. But that didn't mean she had to be happy about it. "So what you're sayin' is, if there ain't no way to go back, then one should be lookin' at how they can move forward?"

"If necessary," said Antione. "Sometimes, there is not much else you can do. Even if the mere thought may one day give me a heart attack."

"Huh. Never thought of it that way before." By this point, the pair had arrived at the front door of the hospital wing. From the outside the wing wasn't much to look at it. It was a wooden building with white curtains for doors, but it got the job done. "Thanks, sugar. Ya know, I think you helped me more than I helped you."

"Come again?"

"Nothin', sugar." She then pecked Antione on his furry cheeks, to which all Antione could do was blush like a bright red cherry.

"Sacre blue!"

"Thanks, Ant'. I'll see ya when you're out. In the meantime, I've got somethin' I've gotta do." She then rushed over to the lab, running like she were racing in a marathon. "See ya soon!" And as Antione stood there under the setting sun, all he could wonder was, 'What in good Gaea' name was that noise'?

* * *

 **NOW**

"Wait a minute. What noise am I referring to?"

Just then, Antione began to hear something faint. Almost like a pin-prick. To nearly anyone else, it would have been nigh-impossible to detect, but Antione's large ears were more sensitive then most. He closed his eyes and held his hands to his ears, like his father taught. He tried to put away his fears and anxieties; to shove it all aside so that nothing remained but that sound. Mind you, he failed miserably, but he was able to concentrate just enough to hone in on that faint noise. And as his eyes opened wide in shock and horror, he knew where that noise was coming from. And if he hadn't heard it himself, he wouldn't have believed it.

"Father?"

He looked towards toward the small desk sitting next to Marcus. He reached into the bottom drawer and pulled out a spare stethoscope. One never knew when one would need such things. He might have just been imagining things, but if his father had taught him anything, (and he had taught him a lot,) it was that no stone could be left unturned. He placed the two prongs into his ears and placed the round portion of the stethoscope onto his father's chest. He moved it around, from the chest, to the stomach, to even his legs. Perhaps it may have been better if he had called in Doctor Quack to do this, but he was afraid he might not even believe him. But if he did ever find anything-

He stopped at his father's heart. He could hear a heartbeat, yes, but as he listened closely, he could hear something else besides. It was that same sound from earlier, only under the stethoscope, it was much louder and far more pronounced. It was a shrill beep. Almost like something one would hear from a tracking device…

Oh, Gaea.

"DOCTOR QUACK!"


	30. Track and Field, Part 2

"This is not good."

Tekno looked at the scan of Marcus' skull sitting in her hands. She had been called to the meeting hall not long ago along with some of the others, and now she was sitting at the end of a long conference table wondering how this could get any worse. Porker was sitting right next to her, and by the way his eyes were widening, he shared the same opinion. Rotor would have been there as well, but even though this was of the utmost importance, he apparently couldn't make it. Something about working on some project or another. Regardless, there wasn't much else they could do.

"You didn't have to tell me that," said Quack, sitting opposite Porker. "What I want to know is, aside from making sure it is what I think it is, what do we do about it?"

"Hard to say," said Porker. "If I were to guess, I'd say that thing's been sitting in Marcus' skull ever since he was tossed in our cell back in Mobotropolis. Which means that whatever Eggman's up to, he's had plenty of time to plan this out."

"Still though, why now?" Tails was sitting next to Porker in a booster seat. This was as humiliating as having to ask someone to get you a box just so you weren't overshadowed by the crowd, but Tails didn't seem to care. Or if he did, he did a commendable job of keeping it close to the vest. In any case, he had run into Tekno and Porker on the way over to pack for a camping trip with Sonic and Johnny. Before he knew it, one thing led to another, and here he was.

"Think about it," he said. "Eggman could have done this any time he wanted. If he wanted to, he could have activated it and crushed us before we even got off the ground. So again, why now? Why not when he had the chance?"

"Perhaps that was just it," said Tekno. "Because he did have the chance. It would have been far too easy."

"Are you saying he's played his trump card right here and now just because it amuses him?" Sally was sitting at the far end of the table, listening carefully to every word before she made any judgment calls.

"It is possible," said Tekno. "That is the only option I can see. And given some of his previous behavior, it would not be unwarranted."

Sally thought back to that night. The night Daddy was sent to the Special Zone. Maybe for good. She had seen Eggman's 'previous behavior', and she knew for a fact that it was completely and utterly wrong. Just another reason to one day take him down.

A high-pitched ring then sounded from Sally's satchel. Everyone else was more than a bit confused, but Sally knew that sound perfectly well. Reaching into the satchel, she brought out a small handheld computer with a bright purple screen. It was Nicole. And one single sigh from Sally like an exasperated older sister was enough to tell that this wasn't the first time something like this had occurred.

"Nicole," said Sally, "what did I say about interrupting me during a meeting?"

"APOLOGIES," said Nicole. "THE IDEA OF REQUIRING SOMEONE TO GIVE YOU PERMISSION TO DO SOMETHING BEFORE YOU ACTUALLY DO SO IS STILL SOMEWHAT FOREIGN TO ME. IT WAS NOT MY INTENTION TO INTRUDE."

"No worries. Everyone makes mistakes. Anyway, like I said, do you think this could wait?"

"SADLY, TO WAIT NOW WOULD MOST LIKELY MEAN THE DEATH SENTENCE FOR ALL PARTIES INVOLVED, OR AT LEAST OURS. I WOULD LIKE TO AVOID THIS IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. AND I BELIEVE I KNOW A WAY."

"Come again?"

Nicole did not miss a beat. "TEKNO AND PORKER, COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE ME THE SPECIFICATIONS OF THAT DEVICE AS SOON AS YOU COULD? I BELIEVE THAT WITH SOME HELP, WE MAY BE ABLE TO SEND EGGMAN RUNNING BACK TO MOBOTROPOLIS, OR AT LEAST FOR THE TIME BEING."

Nearly everyone was shocked. Sally especially. She knew Nicole wasn't like most computers, but this was most unexpected. Nicole offering to help? Would wonders never cease?

"Fascinating." As far as Tekno was concerned, to see an AI moving past her initial limitations was nothing short of a spectacle. Then again, she could relate to having to move beyond what was most expected for most everyone. Still, duty called.

"IT IS QUITE SIMPLE. IF YOU ALL CAN IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF THE SIGNAL, THEN I SHOULD BE ABLE TO HACK INTO IT. AS FOR THE ACTUAL PLAN, IT IS QUITE SIMPLE. THE TRACKER IS MOST LIKELY SENDING A SIGNAL BACK TO EGGMAN'S COMPUTERS, ALERTING US AS TO WHERE WE ARE. HOWEVER, IF I CAN ASCERTAIN THE FREQUENCY OF THE SIGNAL, I SHOULD BE ABLE TO HACK INTO AND ALTER IT."

"You mean make him think the signal's coming from somewhere else?" said Porker.

"IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING. IF I ONLY FABRICATED THE ORIGIN OF THE SIGNAL, HE WOULD EVENTUALLY FIGURE OUT THE TRUTH AND WOULD LIKELY GO TO THE SOURCE OF THE ORIGINAL SIGNAL. BUT WHAT IF THERE WERE MORE THAN ONE SIGNAL?"

Tails had been drinking a glass of water, but as though a lightbulb came on in his head, he found himself nearly peforming a spittake. "Brilliant!"

"Which means what exactly?" said Quack. "I'm a doctor, not a scientist. Care to explain it for us simple folk?"

Tekno did the honors. "Nicole is correct. One replicated signal would not be enough. If, however, there were a hundred or so…"

"…he wouldn't be able to tell the difference."

"HE WOULD HAVE TO BURN THE WHOLE FOREST DOWN," said Nicole. "AND SEEING AS HE HAS NOT DONE IT SO FAR, I BELIEVE THAT THIS IS SOMETHING HE WILL NOT BE WILLING TO DO."

"You might be right," said Sally. "But there's still a problem, isn't there?"

"CORRECT. UNFORTUNATELY, I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REPLICATE THE SIGNALS FOREVER. IT WILL CERTAINLY BE AN EFFECTIVE COVER, BUT THE ORIGINAL SIGNAL MUST STILL BE DEALT WITH."

Everyone looked towards a seat far to the rear, just above Sally. Antione had been sitting with his head lowered, his hands shaking, his knees knocking. He had been doing his best to keep himself calm and composed, to be the devoted soldier his father wanted him to be. However…

""OHGAEASACREBLEAUFATHEROHMYFATHERWHATAREWEGoiNGTODOTHEYCOULDBEHEREANYSECONDOHFATHEROHGAEAIWILLSHUTUPNOW."

…he was not his father. As his sudden outburst akin to that of a scared child promptly demonstrated.

"Look, kid," said Quack. "This is bad, both for your father and for us, but that doesn't mean you need to have a tizzy over it. Besides, now that we know for sure, we might be able to help your old man out. And the first thing we've gotta do is get that tracking device out of his skull. But seeing as Marcus can't speak for himself, I'm going to need your consent."

"Look, Doctor," said Tekno. "I do not mean any disrespect, but surely now is not the time to be worrying about niceties."

"It's always a time to be worrying about niceties," said Quack. "I'm not going to operate on some poor kids' father until he gives the okay. Do we understand each other?"

"It is okay, Doctor Quack," said Antione. He had managed to compose himself to some extent. At the very least, he was no longer shaking in his boots like a scaredy-cat. "I appreciate your concern. However, looking after my father is not my only duty. I also have a duty to my princess and this kingdom, and in turn, everyone before you. And as you said, we may be able to save my father after all. In any case, we cannot afford to waste any more time. For all that we know, they could very well be on our doorstep."

"My thoughts exactly," said Sally. "We can't know for sure how close or far Eggman's forces are to Knothole. Just to be on the safe side, we're going to need to buy some time. Porker, are any of those new weapons ready?"

"To an extent, yes," said Porker. "There's a still good number we're working on and some that we haven't even started on yet, but we've managed to get a few finished up. We're still working on something special for Sonia and Manic, but we've got a couple of special-made blasters for them. Antione's got a new blade ready and waiting. Johnny's got a new mace, and it packs a wallop. And I just put the finishing touches on something for yours truly."

"Good. Tell Sonia and Manic to stay near Marcus. Just in case, we need someone looking after him. Meanwhile, everyone who can fight is getting sent a mile out of Knothole. With any luck, they should be able to fend off Eggman long enough for Nicole and Quack to work their magic. As for Tekno, she's staying behind in case Nicole's not enough. And you're staying too, Tails."

Tails nearly began to pout in his chair like the twelve year old he was before remembering that wasn't something he did too often. Instead, he sat up straight, folded his fingers, and like trying to play grown-up made his case. "Seriously? I want to go out too, you know."

"I know, and I do appreciate it. But you're twelve years old. And I am not sending you out into the middle of a battle-field, or at least not until you've proven you can handle it. In fact, I wouldn't send anyone out there unless they could prove they could handle it. Which means, Porker, that unless that new weapon of yours is as powerful as you say it is, you'd be staying here too."

Porker tugged his collar, sweat starting to bead down his brow as though the reality of the situation was beginning to dawn on him. "Honestly, I wouldn't have had a problem with that. Almost makes me wish I hadn't even bothered with it."

Tails couldn't help but sulk. At times, he seemed wise beyond his years, but then there were these sorts of moments that put things into perspective. Much to his displeasure. "But I've already proven myself, haven't I? If I hadn't been there in Green Hill, Johnny and Hershey might not have made it!"

"I know, hon," said Sally. "But if I had known someone like Maw was in Green Hill, I wouldn't have sent you out there either."

"Oh, come on!

"Actually," said Tekno, "with Porker out in the field, we are going to be short an extra hand, and Rotor is likely going to be sent out as well once he is finished with whatever it is he is working on. And besides, you were the one who came up with the idea of hiding Cream's energy trace. In fact, the only reason why you haven't been made a full member of the lab is because you are so young. And because Sally has seen fit to object for reasons that are unfathomable."

"He's twelve years old!"

All Tekno could do was scoff. "A very capable twelve years old. Besides, if he doesn't start now, how is ever going to learn?"

"I'd have to agree," said Porker. "Regardless of how young he is, he's a natural. I understand how you feel, but shoving aside that kind of talent just because he's a kid, well, I'd say it's not exactly queenly, but I know how you feel about that sort of thing, so…"

Sally clenched her fist and gritted her teeth, as though she was suddenly eager to rip SOMETHING a new one. Porker had just come close to losing his spleen, and as he began to tug at this collar, he was only grateful that Sally was as intelligent and reasonable as she was. Because if she hadn't been, he would have been in for a world of hurt.

"Look," she said. "We are not discussing this now. But maybe you have a point. Tails?"

Tails managed to curb his enthusiasm. He would love for this to go where he thought it was going to go, but he knew that things often didn't turn out the way you'd expect them to. "Yeah, Sally?"

"Go with Tekno and the others for now. We'll talk again after all of this has been dealt with. Assuming we can deal with it at all."

Now this, Tails had not been expecting. "Seriously? Thanks, Sally! I won't let you down."

"Just try to stay out of trouble. And then we'll see about keeping you on when you all get back. Understood?"

"Sure thing, Sally!"

"Not a problem." She walked over to Tails and placed a hand on his head, rubbing it back and forth and mussing up Tails' head of fur in the process. "Look, honey. Maybe I worry about you more than I should, but as smart as you are, you're still twelve years old. I'm just worried that you're going to get hurt."

At this point, like a dutiful sibling, Nicole felt it was best to get things back on track. "I DO NOT WISH TO INTERRUPT, BUT THERE IS STILL A TRACKER SITTING WITHIN MARCUS' CRANIUM, AND WE MAY NOT HAVE MUCH TIME TO GET IT OUT."

"Thanks, Nicole," said Sally.

Tails then turned back to Sally, looking at her as though while he could understand where she was coming from, he still could not accept it. Who could accept being sent to the sidelines because you weren't tall enough to ride this ride? Or so on and forth.

"Sally, look. I appreciate you looking out for me. I really do. But I can't be sitting on the sidelines forever. I'm more useful out there than I am in here. And I want to do more."

"I know, honey," said Sally. "I just don't know."

Meanwhile, Nicole was still making sure everyone knew that there was quite possibly an invasion force headed their way. "PEOPLE. PRIORITIES. I DID NOT THINK I WOULD HAVE TO SAY THIS, BUT I BELIEVE I MUST MAKE SURE THAT WE ALL POSSESS THEM. IT IS JUST A THOUGHT."

As much as Sally hated it, she knew Nicole was right. "Tails, we'll talk about this later. Right now, we have work to do."

Just then, Harvey barged into the room, his bathrobe blowing as though a heavy gust of wind were running straight through it. And as his sharp eyes pierced straight through Sally's own, one thing was clear: He wasn't happy.

"Harvey?" said Sally. "What—"

Harvey cut to the chase. "Hershey and Geoffrey just sent word. They're on their way here."

"Hershey and Geoffery?" said Antione.

"No, Humphrey Hoggart. Who do you think?" And as though a chill had run throughout the room, Sally knew just who Harvey was referring to.

"Eggman."

* * *

"Hey, Scratch?"

A short, green, roundish robot on tractor wheels with two drills for hands and another for a nose was sitting in the back of a giant red and yellow truck. The truck just one small part of a convoy that was rolling across the Wood Zone. It was filled with a large squad of SWATbots, troopers, and various other assorted baddies that were all set on bringing the Freedom Fighters to their knees. The question was whether they were capable of doing so.

"Oh, shut up, Grounder. I'm thinking." A tall lanky robot with a head almost like that of a chicken's and a voice that lived up to his name sat right next to him, sulking almost as if he didn't want anything to do with him. Though to be the fair, by the way the other robots were giving the two of them a wide berth, they didn't seem to be wanting anything to do with them. Fair was fair.

"Thinking about what?"

"About how to solve world peace, numbut! Obviously, I'm thinking about how I'm going to capture the other Freedom Fighters and become Doctor Eggman's #1 bot! He'll be so proud of me!"

"Nu-huh! I'm the one he's gonna be proud of!" Grounder pointed to himself, convinced that if nothing else, he was Gaea's gift to robot-kind. Not that a green hunk of metal that might as well have been a cannibalized half of a tank was all that attractive, but what could you do? "You're just gonna have to settle for being second best!"

"Oh yeah?!"

"Yeah!"

"Well, we'll see about that!" Scratch then got ready to lunge for Grounder with every intent of strangling him until his neck (or whatever passed for it,) was mincemeat. Just as he was about to do so, a small red robotic monkey with a lightbulb sticking out of his head then leaped down from the ceiling and plopped himself right between the two. Not because he believed it was the right thing to do, but more because he had better things to do than listen to two yahoos.

"Hold up now, hold up! HOLD UP!"

This was new. In fact, it was so new that Scratch and Grounder couldn't help but stop what they were doing just on account of Coconuts of all people trying to stop a fight. "Seriously?" said Scratch. "What gives, Coconuts? I was gonna show that hunk of metal a thing or two!"

"Same here!" said Grounder. "That bucket of bolts might as well be put back in storage! If there's anyone who's gonna take down the Freedom Fighters, it's me!"

"Look," said Coconuts, "none of you are gonna get it because none of you are keepin' your lids on! Tearing each other apart ain't gonna do us any good! We wanna prove ourselves to Robotnik, right?"

"Of course I do!" said Scratch. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Course!" said Grounder. "Although, with just a bit of drilling, Scratch's leg might be a heck of a backscratcher."

"Over my dead body!"

Coconuts couldn't help but slide his palm over his short metal face. "I'm surrounded by idjits. Look, Grounder, it's a nice thought, but it just ain't doable. Not when said backscratcher ALREADY HAS SOMEONE ATTACHED TO IT!"

"Hey now!" said Scratch. "I resemble that remark."

"And never mind that none of you ain't even alive! What the hell are you gonna need a backscratcher for?!"

Grounder looked down at the metal floor. If he could blush, his face would have been redder than a beat. "Well, just because I can't get itchy doesn't mean I don't think I can. I think I can do lots of things! That's what matters."

"Yeah, well, why don't you think yourself into an exploding sun for all I care?" said Scratch.

Coconuts almost wished he hadn't already performed a face palm. He had done one it too soon. "Okay, look. We know where they are and there's probably not gonna be any way for them to get out of this, so rather than keep acting like braindead ninnies, howzabout we try to wrack our brain cells together and figure out a way to take them on ourselves?"

"That would be most wise." Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts all jumped up before slowly turning around. Sitting in the corner with a bright-red cape draped over his back was a tall brute of a robot, and he appeared to be doing everything in his power to be as subtlety cool as possible. His build was somewhat similar to the SWATbots. He was tall, brawny, and black, but there were still enough differences to tell them apart. As the pink fuzzy fur on his shoulders began to blow on the air conditioner's currents, all he could think about was how he had come to consorting with such simpletons.

"And who the hell are you?" said Coconuts.

Meanwhile, Grounder couldn't help but be frightened out of his hard drive, zipping behind Coconuts and doing his best to get himself ready for a second salvo. "Uh-oh! I think he means business."

"The name is Sir Logik. And I always mean business." The robot began to lift his up his head. It was almost like a knight's helmet, with two bright glowing half-moons in place of eyes and with a pink ponytail shooting up in the back. "And so should you. We are not mere ruffians free to do whatever we please. Our duty is to serve our lord and master, so I would suggest we spend our copious free time on how to do that rather than engage in petty conflicts and arguments. Or risk tasting the steel of my blade!" He then lifted up a sharp and rather nasty three-pronged trident and aimed it right at the three numbnuts.

"Hey!" shouted Scratch. "Watch where you point that thing! You're gonna poke your eye out, kid!"

"Yeah!" said Grounder. "Besides, those things are supposed to be used to cook hotdogs! Not that I can eat hotdogs but it's the thought that counts."

And all Coconuts could do was cover his face with his palms and wonder why he seemed to be the only one of this particular trio blessed with so much as a smidgen of brain power. To be fair, Sir Logik seemed to be wondering this as well. All he could do was squint his eyes as he wondered if the same man who have made his own glorious self could possibly have built those three dumdums. "Out of curiosity, were your processors dropped on their way from the Scrapbrain Zone? Or were you simply blessed with sheer incompetence?"

"Maybe?" Grounder scratched the closest thing he had to a neck with this right drill. "Actually, the way the boss tells it, we were cooked up when Eggman was watching a cooking show after a, uh, what did he call it?"

"Late night bender," said Scratch.

"Ah yeah, that's right. Anyway, he was having one of those when he saw a cooking show about how to make ground coconuts from scratch. And, well, here we are!"

Sir Logik was having a rather hard time of comprehending a single shred of, well, logic in that sentence, as evidenced by his eyes twitching ever so subtly. "You cannot be serious."

"Afraid so," said Coconuts. "I'll be honest, I'm just as confuzzled as you are, but like it or not, that's the only reason we're even here."

"I see." Logik at last saw the logic to the situation. Even if was rather stupid logic. He lowered his trident, not that he let up his gaze any. "To think that our master would create no less than three creations as imbecilic as you. If I were not programmed to serve him until his dying days, I would seriously consider looking for a new master."

"Hey!" said Grounder. "We ain't stupid! We're just computer-chip challenged! Right, Scratch?"

"Uh, yeah! Right! You're the stupid one!" said Scratch.

"Yeah! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid!"

"Uh, guys, ix-nay on the upid-stay!" Out of the three insults to robotkind, only Coconuts seemed to have enough megabits to realize insulting the large robot with the pointy three-pronged stick was probably a bad move. And with anyone else, it might have been. But Sir Logik was not anyone else.

"Bah! You are not even worthy to taste my blade."

"Ha!" said Scratch. "Joke's on you! We can't even taste anything!" He then let out a loud, pompous laugh, almost as though he were giving a cockle-doodle-do.

Cue more eye-twitching. "IT WAS A METAPHOR!"

"ENOUGH!" An elongated furry foot slammed open the door to the driver's seat as a small yellow chinchilla stood in the doorway, staring down all in her wake. The only thing that kept them from quaking in their boots was the fact that, no matter how you sliced it, she just wasn't very intimidating. How could one be at 3'6?

"What the hell is going on!? I had to put this thing on autopilot to deal with you simpletons, so this had better be good!"

"It was nothing, lady Thunderbolt." Sir Logic gave a gracious bow. He was none too eager to please, but being a knight meant one was polite as possible to their masters, if nothing else. "Merely a misunderstanding between two groups of servants of wildly different calibers. I assure you, this will not happen again."

"See that it doesn't. We need to be at Knothole Forest on the double, and I don't want to have to deal with anything that could stop us from reaching our goal! Understood?!"

"Perfectly, milady."

"Good." She then turned to the three deadweights, ready to tear them a new one. "And that goes triple for the three of you! Understand?!"

"Ay-yi, milady! Sir! Whatever!" All three of them stood tall, (or straightened themselves as much as possible in Grounder's case,) giving Thunderbolt salutes worthy of a modern major general. Not that Thunderbolt was one, but it was the thought that counted.

"Well now, that's more like it! Just as long as we understand each other. Because if you don't, you're headed back to the Scrapbrain Zone!"

She then hopped back to the doorway, though before she did so, she reached into a wide pocket in her yellow and orange suit and pulled out a pristine photo of Eggman, the only blemishes being that it was covered with more than a few red sloppy kisses. She gazed at the photo as though she were looking at a star-crossed lover, their paths forever intertwined. "Oh, Eggy-poo!" She then gave it a big wet kiss before stuffing it back in her pocket and slammed the door behind her.

And in that moment, there was one thing all four of them could agree on.

"YUCK!"


	31. Track and Field, Part 3

"Everything proceeding smoothly, Snively?"

Eggman and Grimer were still standing in the center of the Control Room, with Snively sitting in his chair and monitoring his calls to make sure that his boss didn't have a good reason to turn him into kibble. Though he had to wonder why he was working for such a man in the first place. Perhaps he was a glutton for punishment?

"Yes, sir. Everything appears to be going according to plan."

"Egg-cellent." Eggman folded his hands together like a fiendish mastermind, which appropriately enough was what he was.

"Indeed," said Grimer. "Though I do have to ask. Where on earth did you come up with such a brilliant plan to place a tracker in that general's skull?"

"Oh, that's simple. I didn't."

For once in his life, Grimer was just a tad puzzled. The same could have been said of Snively.

"Really now? Well, if not yours, then whose?"

"Sleets'."

"Sleet?" said Snively. "You mean you're actually giving credit where credit is due? Shall you alert the media or shall I?"

"The only thing the media will be alerted about is a local homocide if you keep that up. Understood?"

Snively nodded his head profusely, as though he were attempting to give Eggman every single speck of understanding he could. "Yes, sir. Perfectly sir. Quite clearly, sir."

"Good. Anyhoo, where was I? Ah, yes. Originally, I was going to have that sorry excuse for a general hogtied and sent to the roboticization chamber, but Sleet had something else in mind. In the event that poor Marcus was rescued, we'd be able to track his body down in an instant and crush all who stood in our way like stepping on anthill. All thanks to one little device. Which as it turns out was quite the act of foresight on his part."

"I see," said Grimer. "I suppose we shall have to commend him, won't we?"

"Quite right. In any case, providing those morons don't mess this up, all we need to do is wait for the convoy to reach its' destination. And then it's show time."

"Just one question, sir," said Snively.

"Yes, Snively?"

"You did say there was only one tracker, correct?"

"Yes, Snively. Yes I did. Out of curiosity, why do you ask?"

"I believe it would be better if you took a look for yourself, sir."

"Hm?" Eggman had been looking towards Grimer who in turn had been looking towards Eggman, but it was only then that they decided to take a good look at the giant monitor sitting straight in front of them. And what they saw would've been enough to give anyone the willies. It was apparent from just a glance that there was more than one tracker present on the screen. In fact, as evidenced by the multitude of bright blue dots, there were about one hundred different signals altogether, all spread over Knothole. Which was enough to cause Eggman to become absolutely livid.

"Well now," said Grimer. "You don't see that every day.

"How. Did. This. HAPPEN?"

"I don't know, sir," said Snively. He was starting to become very much afraid, but he had learned not to show it. If such a thing was possible.

Eggman pinched his brow like a CEO whose hard work had just been undone by sheer incompetence. "This shouldn't have been possible. The only way they could have possibly accomplished something remotely of this caliber would be if they possessed a hacker with skills surpassing even my understanding. And no-one surpasses Doctor Eggman. Snively, see if you can—"

Just as Eggman was about to finish giving the order, the computers speakers suddenly boomed to life as Thunderbolt's voice filled the room, albeit with none of her usual swooning.

"Doctor Eggman, come in, Doctor Eggman! First off, hi there, sweedums! Sorry, my bad! Just had to say it! Second, I REALLY hate to ask because I know you have far better things to do with your valuable spare time that doesn't include lonely little chinchillas like me, but, uh, do you think you could send reinforcements? I mean, I'm sure we could take them ourselves, but, uh—"

"'Them'? Just who is 'them'?

Just then, static started to fill the room, its piercing interference nearly wrecking the earbuds of anyone within earshot.

"Thunderbolt? Thunderbolt? Thunderbolt! Come in, you sorry excuse for a chewtoy! COME IN!"

Silence.

Eggman began to fume as though his grand masterplan was slowly starting to unravel at the seams. He then began to breathe in and out, lest he start to unravel in kind. After all, where there was a will, there was a way. "Snively, contact Axel. Assuming that he isn't experiencing the same technical difficulties."

"I've already tried, sir."

"And?"

"Nothing, sir."

"I see. Snively?"

"Yes, sir?"

"I believe I'm beginning to hate that hedgehog." And as Eggman hurled a nearby spare chair at the nearest wall, both Snively and Grimer could genuinely believe it.

* * *

TWO MINUTES AGO

Thunderbolt was continuing to ride the leading truck of the convoy on her booster seat. She didn't particularly care for it, but she was willing to do anything for her eggy-poo. If only he would let her. She dreamt of being held within his tender, loving embrace; of feeling his soft caress; of hearing a rather rapid beep coming from the truck's radar—

"Wait, what now?"

Thunderbolt glanced down at the radar sitting next to the wheel. There was a small blip appearing right at the edge it A number of small blips in fact. And they were getting closer. Alarmingly close. If she hadn't known any better, the only way they could be getting towards them this fast was—

"THE HEDGEHOG!" She then pounded a small red button sitting on the opposite side of the radar, and a loud shrill beep like a bat out of hell resounded throughout the truck and through the rest of the convoy. She reached up and pulled out a speaker and began spreading the news.

"ATTENTION, YOU SAD SORRY EXCUSES FOR DOCTOR EGGMAN'S MOST GLORIOUS CREATIONS! We have a number of high-speed signals coming right this way! It's probably the hedgehog and the mongoose with their little friends, so if you don't wish to be sent to the Scrap Brain Zone for scrap metal—"

Just then, the entire truck was sent hurling through the air like a soccerball. It was twisting and turning and twisting again, and as Thunderbolt began screaming at the top of her lungs, she could feel that very same sensation in her stomach. Before she knew it, the truck finally stopped, but only after crashing right onto its' side like a dead animal.

"Report! I said, report! REPORT! Thunderbolt tried to contact the rest of her truck, but to no avail. The truck was offline no matter how many times she tried to restart the engines, probably due to being tossed around like a ragdoll. Thunderbolt didn't like this one bit. She knew she wasn't the last one still aboard the truck. Sir Logik was still there. Those three imbelices were still there. Every single bot that should have been onboard should still have been on-board. But that wasn't the problem, was it?

Thunderbolt took out a small phone from her suit. This was an independent cell phone with its' own battery and internet connection, meaning it was capable of reaching out to anyone within a certain radius if necessary. And as far as Thunderbolt was concerned, this was very necessary.

"Doctor Eggman, come in, Doctor Eggman! First off, hi there, sweedums! Sorry, my bad! Just had to say it! Second, I REALLY hate to ask because I know you have far better things to do with your valuable spare time that doesn't include lonely little chinchillas like me, but, uh, do you think you could send reinforcements? I mean, I'm sure we could take them ourselves, but, uh—"

Thunderbolt could hear a sharp slicing of metal like a buzzsaw, cutting its' way through what was the top of the truck before it was toppled altogether. From what Eggy-poo had told her, she knew exactly what it is, but she still needed to make sure.

She hopped to the door. It was a struggle to open it what with it being on its' side and all, especially seeing as she was probably the shortest being in the room. In the end, she had to hop and turn the knob herself, which wasn't easy with her tiny little hands. Still, with a few grunts and a near broken back, she managed to make it. And what she saw was most disconcerting.

About two thirds of her forces were still up and standing. This was good. What wasn't good was that the other third had either been disabled due to the crash or were merely waiting for the right moment. Which as things turned out may have been about to come. The 'buzzsaw' kept on trucking, and there wasn't any real way to stop it until it reached its' destination. Or wanted to go home. Whichever first.

"Enough of this!" Just as the mysterious intruder was about to finish up, Thunderbolt finally saw fit to take action. She fired a blast of electricity from her palms straight towards the buzzsaw's way, and it seemed like that would be an end to that.

It wasn't. Just as the blast was about to hit, the intruder managed to finish up carving a path, leaving the blast to be just a smokey and soon to be distant memory. As the smoke cleared, it was obvious just who it was. "Hey there! Miss me?"

For a moment, Thunderbolt was flabbergasted, as though realizing the grim reaper was upon her. But it didn't last long. She turned back to the surviving bots, who were all standing around as though they hadn't a clue.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Fire at the hedgehog! FIRE!"

Meanwhile, Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts had finally come to, and Grounder suddenly had a rather pressing question. "Fire? What fire? I don't see a fire. I see a blue hedgehog, but no fire."

Scratch promptly bonked Grounder on the head. He may only have had half a bit in that noggin, but it was still more than his colleague. "Bolts for brains! She wants you to fire!"

"Oh! Right! Uh, fire at what?"

And all Coconuts could do as he started to sulk was wonder why he was saddled with such a pair of utter nincompoops. "Oy vey."

Meanwhile, Sonic was still standing in front of the self-made entryway. He was lazing against the nearest wall, half asleep and yawning like he could care less. "Yeah, I hate to say it, but we're kind of on a tight schedule here." He then called out to the side. "Porker, you wanna get us movin' here?"

Sonic zipped out of the truck in a flash. Before Thunderbolt and the others could so much as take a single step, they began to feel something rather… odd.

"Hey, Scratch?" said Grounder.

"Yeah?" said Scratch.

"Is it just me, or do you feel like you're flying?"

"What do you mean, flying? Of course I do! Though now that you mention it, that's probably not a good thing. Maybe they put in the Unleaded?"

While the ignoramuses were sorting things out, Thunderbolt hopped over to the open hole, desperate to capture that blue hedgehog and get in the good graces of the love of her life. She knew that Eggman was the one for her. He was so intelligent. So dreamy. So… high as a kite?

Looking down, Thunderbolt saw the problem. For whatever reason, they were floating a good two hundred feet above the ground, suspended in midair like being held within two opposing magnetic poles. Which was exactly what it was.

Standing a good ways away from the truck were a small cadre of Freedom Fighters. Sonic was there of course, but so was none other than Porker Lewis. He was wearing a couple of large metallic gauntlets, and by the strained expression on his face akin to pulling a gasket, it was clear that he had something to do with this.

"Oh yeah!" said Sonic. "You go, Porker. Those fancy doodads of yours really came in handy!"

Indeed they had. Normally, harnessing the power of magnetism wasn't something anyone would be capable of doing. However, where there was a will, there was a way...

* * *

 **ONE DAY AGO**

"This is it, Porker?"

Tekno was observing a pair of large gauntlets sitting on a small table in the workshop. Porker was standing at the other hand, and as he saw Tekno admiring his baby, he couldn't help but show her off. "Yeah, that's it."

"Impressive. So then, these gauntlets will allow you to control any metallic object you wish?"

"Sort of. More generally speaking, these will let me create and harness magnetic poles. There's a number of things I could try, but for our purposes, you're right. This will let me control nearly any metallic object I want, within reason. And providing that Eggman hasn't already taken precautions. Which he might."

"And just how did you accomplish this? If you do not mind me asking."

"No problem. With Tails, we were able to whip up a device that filtered Cream's energy signature so that she couldn't be tracked. We were able to get it up and running, but that was when I started to wonder. What if we could make a copy of Cream's energy frequency and copy it? Use it as a base to create weapons and tools that wouldn't normally be possible."

"Yes, that was my thought as well. The only problem would be that I am not sure how Cream would react to her powers being used to create more weapons. She is distressed enough as is."

"I know. And I already asked her."

"And?"

"She said that she wasn't really sure of anything right now. And with that being the case, that I might as well do what I want."

"Poor child," said Tekno.

"I know,' said Porker. "Here's hoping she never has to go on the frontlines. In any case, with that out of the way, I was able to get to work making these things."

"I see. Here is hoping that they work."

"Same here."

—

"Zounds! We're under attack! Quick, mount the calvary, alert the guard, check for the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow and, and, and oh my giddy aunt, what in Gaea's name am I even saying?"

Sir Logik had at last come to, though after recalibrating his circuits and a taking a quick peek out of the whole in the wall, it didn't take him long to grasp the reality of the situation. "Ah. It would seem that the enemy has us within his grasp.

"You think?!" shouted Thunderbolt. "That pig's somehow causing this truck to fly as high as a kite!"

For whatever reason, this caused Grounder of all people to break into song. Though to be fair, he did have a rather lovely singing voice. "Let's go fly a kite! Up to the highest heights!"

And before he knew it, Stratch had quite promptly bonked him on the head like whacking an ignorant child. "Quit it! You wanna get sued?!"

"In any case," said Logik, "as thrilling as this is, this is a most precarious situation. They might well have the other trucks in the convey within their grasp."

"You think?!" said Thunderbolt. "And not to mention, but there's now a giant hole in the truck, and I would not be surprised if they did the same to the other ones somehow. Superspeed, superstrength, a blast of energy, or any other sort of underhanded bullcrap."

"But why'd they do that?" said Grounder.

Logik almost couldn't believe the words coming from his mouth. "Think, you simpleton! If they so much as tilt our trucks toward the ground below—"

Just then, the trucks began to slowly tilt downwards, as if being bobbed down in the water and kept there. The side with the hole in the wall steadily became that much closer to the ground. And when it did, there wasn't going to be much stopping a large chunk of bots from falling straight through. They began attempts to the clamor to the wall, to keep themselves from going through as much as possible. It was like stacking a large pack of toys together only to have them inevitably start to fall down and go higgilly-piddegdly in short order.

"Quick, hold me, Scratch!" said Grounder. "I don't wanna die!"

"Oh, quit your bellyachin'!" said Coconuts, doing his best to sidle the wall as much as possible. "You aint' gonna die! If anything, it'll be an improvement!"

"Indeed!" said Sir Logik, standing tall and not afraid to be disassembled in the least. "In any event, you should stand proud! If destruction is inevitable, then it is inevitable! There is even a strang, morbid sense of beauty in such a thing. All you can hope for is that your life has meant something and for—"

"QUIET!" screamed Thunderbolt. "Do you feel something shaking?"

It started small. Almost a minor vibration, in fact. And then it became bigger. More noticeable. And then it became bigger still, and each time it did, the increase in vibrations and shaking was greater than the last. Until in a riveting climax, all of the trucks were shaking so fervently that it was like a child trying to empty his biggy bank.

Back on the ground, Sonic was starting to get a mite board. "Look, Porker, I don't mean to complain, but couldn't you hurry this up a bit? I mean, I get this is your first time using these things, but we don't got all day!"

"You're right there, Sonic. This is his first time using this thing. So maybe you wanna ease up a little." Johnny was standing next to Porker, his right hand carrying a brand new shiny double-sided metallic mace. And judging by the buttons in the long handle, this looked to have a few more extra features to it. "How you holding up there, Porker?"

"Well as I can. Which is going to have to be good enough." Beads of sweat started to drip from Porker's brow, and it was obvious that lifting up three trucks right out of the gate and shaking them no less was taking its' toll. Nevermind all of the robots stuck inside. Not that they would be for long. "Don't worry. I won't give up that easily. Not this time."

 _You know, Porker, if you ever want to move up in the world, you have to learn to stick to your guns._

"And that's a promise."

The trucks began shaking ever more and more intensely, the vibrations building and building until at last, it started. One by one the robots began to trickle out of there until, like a flood, they began pouring out en masse.

"I still think just smashing the trucks together would've been easier," said Sonic.

"It also would've been wrong," said Johnny. "There might still've been Mobians on board."

"You've got a point."

Meanwhile, Porker was attempting to keep himself from busting a gasket. "Look, it's nice to have something to keep my mind off things, but could the both of you quiet down for just a minute? No offense."

Meanwhile, hordes of robots continued to flow out of the trucks, smashing against each other and crashing to the ground one by one, their circuitry breaking apart or otherwise being rendered defunct upon impact.

"You know," said Sonic, "this is kinda hilarious. In an ironic sort of way. I thought this was gonna be a whole lot tougher what we got."

"This is just weeding out the weak links," said Johnny. "The real deals are probably gonna be a whole other kettle of fish."

"If you say so. Still, from where I'm standing, I'm not sure we're even gonna need Mina and the others."

"Don't forget. They can always call in reinforcements. All we're doing is holding them off for Nicole and Quack to do their thing."

"Right, right. So when do we get to kick some badnik booty?"

As if right on cue, a a small furry fist shot out from underneath a gap between a couple of bots. Thunderbolt immediately came bursting out in a blast of electricity, almost gasping for air and a tad battered, but still very much alive. "Good. GAEA."

Sir Logik came soon after, slashing his way out with his sword. The three ninnies quickly followed, with Grounders' drills-for-hands leading the way as they carved a path straight through. "This is actually kind of fun!"

Naturally, Coconuts and Scratch took issue with such a declaration. "STUFF IT!" And from the other piles, a select assortment of various SWATbots, Troopers, and badnicks followed, climbing they way out of the wreckage and forming a sizeable crack squad.

Thunderbolt was somewhat worse for wear, but as though she didn't know any better, she was itching for a fight. "So. You're the Freedom Fighters, aren't you?"

"Some of them anyway." Porker was still sweating lik ea banshee, but the heavy breathing started to subside now that he was done emptying out the trucks. Which he couldn't have been more grateful for.

"I see. Well, you may have managed to trash most of this scrapheap, but you've still got us with to deal with!"

"Does he?" Grounder rubbed his shiny green head with one of his drills like a simpleton.

"YES. HE DOES. IMBECILE." Thunderbolt then turned back to Sonic and co, as though she hadn't missed a beat. "In any case, all you accomplished was ridding us of any distractions. Besides, there are only three of you, and quite a few more of us. I wouldn't say you ever had a chance."

"Oh really now?" Cause I think we do." Johnny then gave a loud whistle. As if waiting on speed dial, a yellow blur then whizzed onto the battlefield, zipping around Thunderbolt's forces like a bolt of lightning.

"And so the plot thickens," said Sir Logik. "A most fascinating twist to add to our marvelous tale! This will be a battle to remember."

Coconuts could not have given less of a crap. "Assuming we're still around to remember it."

All at once, the blur stopped. Standing in its' place was none other than Mina Mongoose, with Big, Amy, and Chirps all standing right beside.

"Made it!" said Mina.

"Missed me?" said Chirps.

"Hey, that's my line!" said Sonic.

"I just knew he missed me!" said Amy. She nearly ran straight into Sonic's arms, only stopped by Big holding her up by the hem of her dress as she ran in midair like flailing through the stratosphere.

"Time and a place, kiddo."

"Oh, you're no fun! But you're probably right." She let herself down and readied her crossbow, which as evidenced by the new fancy model was upgraded to the nines.

Thunderbolt couldn't help but be taken aback by the sudden influx of reinforcements from the other trucks. Still, that gave her an idea. If she could just get enough time to contact Eggman on her phone, that might have given them enough room to turn the tide and order in some reinforcements. Of course, the trick was doing so in a way that would leave the phone intact.

"Not bad," she said. "Unfortunately, we still outnumber you. Are you sure you want to try those odds?"

Sonic couldn't help but scoff. Surely they did jest. "Oh, I'm not gonna try anything. I'm gonna do. Because we can blast you away to next Sunday."

"I see. Fine. If that's how you want to do this, then so be it. Everyone, ATTACK!"

And attack they did.

* * *

"You okay, Ant'?"

Sonia and Manic were sitting with Antoine on a bench outside the operating room. As requested, they had been guarding the hallway, their new high-powered gear at the ready. On the one hand, you had Sonia with a souped-up keyboard held in front of her chest, capable of firing off blasts of various intensities depending on how hard the keys were pressed. And on the other, you had Manic wielding a sharp drumstick in either hand, and both were perfectly capable of busting some balls. They were ready to kick ass if need be, but right now, that wasn't their chief concern.

Antoine was busy trying not to have a heart attack. His legs were knocking like a doorknob and his teeth were chattering like tiny hammers. His hand was held over his chest as though he were attempting to keep his heart from busting loose, and even with his new sword resting in its' scabbard at his side, he wondered if he would make it to tomorrow.

"Yes, Sonia, I am 'okay.' I am just peachy. How can I not be?! My father is in part responsible for bringing a potentially unstoppable horde to our doorsteps, and the only way to save us all is to operate on him! And the only I reason I have the luxury to worry about all this is that the Princess decided at the last minute to keep me here instead of sending me with the others to the front lines. Of course, I would have preferred to stay here in any case, but it does make me wonder if, considering my father's situation, whether or not the Princess currently considers me a liability, and that I may only be fit to serve once this matter is resolved. Regardless of HOW it is resolved."

"Don't say that, ! Sally only wanted to make sure you could look after your father! I'm sure of it!" Cream placed a hand on Antoine's shoulder, having chosen to stay behind instead of partaking in the battle at hand. Granted, she wasn't technically a Freedom Fighter, nor did she particularly wish to be one just now, but she still helped where she could. And if that meant comforting others in need, then so be it.

"Yeah," said Manic, "don't worry about it. She knows that nothing could stop you from going to the frontlines and kicking robot but. Even if you were screaming your lungs out while doing it."

Antione raised an eyebrow, like a man who knew a backhanded compliment when he heard one. "I appreciate your confidence," he said, sarcasm dripping from every syllable.

"Seriously, man. You've got it where it counts. And don't think for one minute that Sal' thinks of you any less."

"Same here!" said Sonia. "Sonic already told us all about how you saved Bunnie back in Eggman's lab. If that wasn't being brave, I don't know what was. So don't you count yourself out, you hear me?!"

Antoine was taken aback. Up until now, he had always considered himself little more than a coward, always attempting to simply do his part as well as he could. But he certainly hadn't counted on being hailed as some sort of hero. And that was the one thing he knew he could never truly be.

"I appreciate your kind words, mon amies. Truly. Still, what I care most about just now is my father. Doctor Quack said that if all goes well, he should be able to pull through, but if not…"

"Please, ," said Cream, "don't worry. I'm sure your father will be just fine! All you have to do is keep hoping for the best! That is what my mother always said to me, and I still abide by them."

"Thank you, ," said Antoine. "Although, I cannot help but be amazed at your persistence. Especially seeing as you have problems of your own."

Cream's perky ears drooped like a wilting flower. Cheese was sitting right next to her, and his floating yellow ball slowly started to fall in kind. "Oh. Well, I try not to think about them too much. It's just a lot to take in. If you do not mind, I would rather not think about all of that right now."

"No worries, Cream," said Manic. "You just tackle it when the time comes. Besides, right now, we've got bigger fish to fry."

As if right on cue, the door to the Operating Room was flung wide open, and Quack with Nicole in hand was standing right in the doorway.

"We've got a problem."

Antione almost couldn't bear to ask. "What 'problem' are you referring to, Doctor?"

"A VERY GRAVE ONE," said Nicole.

Quack pinched his brow, almost as if he couldn't believe it all himself. "Let me get right to the point. Remember when I said we'd probably be able to save your father?"

"Yes?" said Antoine.

"I was wrong. We take out that transmitter, he's a goner."

"You can't be serious," said Sonia.

"WHEN WE ATTEMPTED TO REMOVE THE TRANSMITTER," said Nicole, "IT BEGAN TO EMIT A SERIES OF STRONG ELECTRIC PULSES. AND WITH MARCUS IN HIS CURRENT STATE…"

"…he wouldn't be able to take it," said Manic.

"I CAN ATTEMPT TO SHUT IT DOWN REMOTELY BEFORE REMOVING IT AGAIN, BUT THERE COULD STILL BE FEEDBACK. EVEN IF I DID, ACCORDING TO MY CALCULATIONS, THERE IS NOT ANYWHERE CLOSE TO A CHANCE OF SUCCESS. WHEN QUACK SAID THAT YOUR FATHER WOULD BE A GONER, HE WAS NOT EXAGGERATING."

Cream held her hand over her mouth as she gasped, scarcely able to take it all in.

Quack then looked Antione square in the eyes, his stern gaze nearly piercing into his very soul, as though everything that came next depended on him. "Let me make this plain to you. There is a tracking device in your father's skull, and if that isn't deal with ASAP, most of us are likely going to die. Or, you leave it alone. Maybe try and keep your father going. Not that I'd recommend it for a number of reasons, but it's your choice. The question is, just what choice do you want to make?"

And as Antoine sat there, dumbfounded, he wasn't sure if he could come up with an answer.


	32. Track and Field, Part 4

Chaos. Panic. Pandemonium. This and more could describe just what went down over those grassy plains in the middle of the wood zone. What could also describe it may have been an old-fashioned hootenanny. Lasers were being fired by the SWATbots and rifle blasts by the Troopers; motobugs were charging into their foes; small floating orbs were sending out flying spike balls one after the other, all while getting smashed to smithereens by the opposition.

Mina was busy sideswiping foes with a sharp new pair of bladed wrist gauntlets from Rotor, ("OH GAEA!") while Amy was dodging fire and shooting some of her own left and right. ("Sonic, you watching? Get a load of this!") Big was lashing out at foes with his fishing rod, his sheer strength turning what would have been a useless line of twine with a hook stuck onto the end into a force to be reckoned with. Nevermind Porker having replaced said with a brand spanking new one just recently. With Froggy sitting right on his shoulder, he didn't have much to worry about. "(Keep your eye on the prize, kiddo!")

Chirps aside, the rest were left to Sonic, Johnny, and Porker to deal with. Porker to just crush all of the bots with one motion from his gauntlet, but as more sweat started to race from his forehead, it just couldn't be done. "Darnit! Sorry guys! I'm still getting used to this, and moving all those trucks really took it out of me. On top of that, the bots seem to be coated with some special alloy. I can't see, but I can feel it. And it makes it that much harder to handle them."

"Hey, don't worry bout it, Porker!" said Sonic. "You already did plenty. Now it's time for us to have some fun!"

"Careful now, Sonic," said Johnny. "Don't get cocky."

"Hey, don't worry about it! I'll be fine! Now, let's get this show on the road, shall we?"

"I couldn't agree more." Thunderbolt had waited long enough. And she was done waiting. "ATTACK! AGAIN! POSTHASTE!" And so they did.

Porker did what he could. He tossed around one badnik and smashed another, but he couldn't trash the lot of them at once. Not yet anyway. Even what he could accomplish took the wind out of him, but he was determined to stay in the game. As far as he was concerned, he had to.

Johnny had his own fish to fry. "Porker's got some of the bots! I'll take care of the rest and the four standouts! Porker can help when he's done! You take on Thunderbolt!"

Sonic was puzzled, as though a close friend was just about to throw his life into the nearest garbage bin. "No offence, but do you seriously think you can take all of them on your own?"

Like the man with all the answers, Johnny smirked. He pressed one of the switches on his mace. Just as the bots began opening fire, a shield of grey energy formed around the two of them, protecting them from everything coming their way.

"Hey!" said Grounder. "That's not fair!"

"You think?!" Coconuts was just trying to stay alive. His agility helped him manuver around the battlefield well enough, but a fighter he was not. Whereas Grounder was a different story.

"It isn't," said Thunderbolt to Grounder. "So why don't you make it unfair and start doing something useful?"

"Oh," said Grounder. "Okay. Just give me a minute here…"

"True warriors do not go by such paltry terms as 'minutes'!" Sir Logik had rejoined the fray, and with his trident in his hand, he was looking to bash in some heads. "But let us see if any of these miscreants ARE true warriors, shall we?" Logik then lunged for Johnny, his trident aiming right for Johnny's shield.

Sonic was practically staring death straight in the eye. "WHOA!" He was all set to get Johnny out of the way, but as Johnny looked him in the eyes, it was clear he had something else in now, he'd let it be. Instead, Johnny lowered his force field, leaving it wide open for anyone to come in and stick a sword in his gullet. Or a trident as the case may have been.

Sir Logik finally made it close enough to Johnny to swing his trident down like a smiting a great evil, or perhaps a great good. Not that it did him any favours. Johnny raised his mace and swung it against Logik's trident like a master of his craft.

Rather than said mace being trashed to smithereens like so much tissue paper, Logik's blow was met and held with aplomb. The two fell into a deadlock, each trying to gain footing over the other and each too equally matched for their own good.

As for Sonic, he could scarcely believe it. "Whoa. Wasn't expecting that."

"Marvelous!" said Sir Logik. "This is most unprecedented! Not that I am complaining."

"Go on, Sonic!" said Johnny. He was sweating and a tad nervous, but he hid it with a face of steel. "I've got this!"

Before Sonic could so much as breathe, his choice was made for him. A blast of electricity from Thunderbolt barreled through at Sonic, followed by a barrage of laser fire from Grounder's opened up 'hands.' He managed to dodge the blasts like a knight of the wind, even if he didn't have much wiggle room. "Whoah! THAT was… kinda fun!"

"This isn't about fun!" said Thunderbolt. "This is about making you bleed until it hurts!"

As much as Sonic hated to say it, Johnny would have to deal with Logik on his own. In a flash, the blur was off towards Thunderbolt. And as Thunderbolt and the three dumdums' eyes went wide, she wondered if this had been such a good idea after all.

Some yards away from everyone else, Chirps had a different problem. Or at least he was soon to have one. He was all set to turn a lone SWATbot into kibble, but said SWATbot had different plans. Or at least it would've if it had actually been a SWATbot. Chirps raised an eyebrow as it suddenly began to swirl, to twist and contort, but it didn't take him long to figure it out.

"Dingo."

And as the grey and black mass started to turn orange and slowed and settled, Chirps knew he was right.

"Chirps. Long time no see. How long's it been? Three years? Four? When you've been around as long as I have, you tend to lose count. But then, you've got the same problem, don't ya, mate?"

"Depends on how you look at it. Way I figure it, it just means I've got less to keep track of."

"Same as ever. Personally, I couldn't give two shakes. But I know you do. Deep down, you want to know the truth. Don't you, mate?"

Chirps outstretched his hand, ready to get to business. "Truth's in the eye of the beholder. Which from where I'm standing is a very ugly one."

Surprisingly, Dingo didn't seem the least bit phased. "Normally, I'd be tearin' into you like a rare steak, but I've got a job to do. It's why I was hiding out aboard this bloody gang of drongo's in the first place. The boss is willing to give you another shot."

"Hey, that's great! I was all out of bourbon. Really helps when I have those migraines."

"You're about have another one. See, Eggman's willin' to offer you somethin' in exchange for your services. Somethin' you can't get anywhere else."

"A conscience? Because, I really hate to say it, but I've already got one, sorry to say."

"Information. About you. And me. Again, I couldn't care less. But I know you do. Always have."

"Yeah, let's cut the chit-chat, shall we? As far as I can tell, there's a war going on just thataway, and I want to have a piece of the pie. Because Chirps loves his pie. Apple pie. Blueberry pie. PIE."

"Oy. Fine. I was hopin' I didn't have to resort to this."

Chirps chuckled, almost as his noggin was being filled with all manner of ill-conceived imagery. "Hey now, don't feel the need to compensate. You don't got it, you don't got it. There's nothing' wrong with that."

"Then there's nothing wrong with hearin' an old mate out. Tell me somethin'. Does the name 'Gerald Robotnik' ring a bell?"

It came to Chirps in an instant. Pain. From head to toe. Suddenly, every iota of his body was filled with it. The earth began to pulse with minor quakes and tremors as Chirps collapsed to his knees, his hands clasped to his head as he tried to sort through the blinding amount of images running through his brain. In fact, they were more like snapshots, providing glimpses and clues rather than a concrete picture. But it was enough to finally make Chirps shut his big gaping beak. Well, aside from the occasional grunt.

"Finally managed to shut you up. Brings back memories, don't it? Did for me. Oh, it's still all jumbled about in there, to be sure, but it's somethin'. But it takes quite a bit of time to really dull the pain. And time ain't something you've got."

Chirps clenched his teeth, trying his best not to lie down in a fetal position and even more not to show it. The pain slowly dulled with every second that passed, but it wasn't easing fast enough.

"Now," said Dingo. "Seeing as you may be a mite more agreeable, I'll ask again. Care to join up with us once more? Raise some hell? Or would you rather go for the rest of your life not knowin' the truth? Your choice. Mate."

Chirps slowly lifted up his head, the pain having lessened just enough to form mostly coherent sentences, and he looked Dingo straight in the eyes. Dingo could see in Chirps' baby blues something that was rarely seen. They were old and tired, betraying the relatively young body he possessed. And as Chirps again opened his beak, all Dingo knew was that this was the Chirps he wanted to see. And yet, in an instant, he began to regret it.

"Never. Compromise. Not even in the face of armageddon." And as Chirps grimaced, Dingo at once knew that he never should have even tried this in the first place. "That was me trying to be serious for once in my life. How I'd do? Makes you wanna kiss me, don't it?"

Dingo spat right on top of his red spiked comb. "Knew it was a waste of time. Should've done you in when I had the chance. Still, never too late to make amends." Dingo then shifted his hand into a giant lance. He held it out like holding a rifle one-hand, keeping it completely straight. And then it shot out. It extended and grew from Dingo's hand at the speed of a moving train, and as the ever growing lance seemed to gun for Chirps in the blink of an eye, one had to wonder how he was possibly going to get out of this one. Or if he even could.

"Sweet dreams, mate."

Just as the lance was about to impale Chirps on the spot, and just as he seemed to move his hand in an effort to make a last-minute save, it turned out that neither needed have bothered. At that instant, a blast of energy shot down from on-high, blasting Dingo's arm to smithereens. He yelled like the dickens, reeling his arm back in and caressing it like a mother would a child. "There, there, sweetums! Daddy's got ya! And Daddy wants to know who did this!"

"Howdy, sugar!" Dingo looked up to see just who had decided to speak to him in such a gawdy accent. Not that he was one to talk. Flying in from on-high was a blond-haired rabbit with a robotic arm and legs. A pair of jet boosters on each foot propelled her forward, and though she was doing her best to stay balanced, she seemed to be getting the hang of it. She turned to a squirrel in a full-bodied suit of armor by soaring by her side. Whether or not he was pleased or pissed was anyone's guess. "So, how'd I do?"

"For someone who shouldn't have the faintest idea what the hell they're doing?" said Shortfuse. "Pretty damn good. And coming from me, that's a damn lot."

"Didn't expect to be hearing such praise from you, sugar. Still, guess we can't leave them hangin.'" She then began to divebomb down to the ground like a rogue missile. Shortfuse shook his head, and then he did the same.

"You're damn right about that," he said.

"Who the hell are those freaks?" said Dingo.

Chirps at last began to get himself together. His breathing had slowed, the seizures had subsided, and he started to feel like his old self again. Not that he always liked his old self, but what could he do? He wasn't sure what was going on, or how Bunnie had started flying at the drop of a hat, but he did know one thing: Someone was about to get rocked.

* * *

"Please!" said Antoine. "Please tell me there is another way!"

"Afraid not," said Quack. "Either you let us operate and we get that tracker out, which will probably kill him in the process, or you don't and we all meet our respective makers. That's the long and short of it."

"Oh, please, Doctor Quack!" said Cream. "Isn't there anything else you can do?"

"Not as far as I can see. But either way, we need to make a decision sooner than later."

Sonia and Manic didn't know what to say. How could they? Antoine certainly didn't. He sat there, unsure of what to do or even what to think. He had been given a hell of a choice. Almost surely kill his father and save everyone else, or almost certainly damn everyone else to certain death while keeping his father alive. Though seeing as he'd still be in a coma, could one even truly call that living? And it was then that something else popped into his brain.

"Doctor Quack. You said that if Doctor Eggman and his forces come here, they would surely murder every single Mobian they could find. Is that correct?"

"THAT IS AN ACCURATE ASSESSMENT," said Nicole.

"Then with that being the case, they would also surely murder my father as well. Is that not also an 'accurate assessment'? " Everyone's eyes went wide as though they'd been thrown for a loop. With everything that had been going on, it wasn't even something they had considered, but in hindsight, it made perfect sense. "If Eggman makes it to our location, there is no reason for him not to slaughter everyone in sight. And as much I would give anything not to say this, that would no doubt include my father. After all, what use would he have for him?"

Quack shook his head. He was bemused, but not surprised. "You're probably right."

Antoine's hands were shaking up a storm, and his eyes were starting to mist over like a fine spray, yet he did his best to keep himself as calm and collected as he could. "My father is dead either way. The only difference will be that if I do not make the choice to do it here and now, I will have sent so many others to die with him. And that would be disgracing his memory more than anything else I could imagine."

"So, does that mean…"

"It does. On my authority and honor as a Coolete, I give you permission to remove the tracker within my father's skull. I can only pray that he somehow survives. And that I have not just damned myself in the process."

Quack placed his arm on Antoine's shoulder. One look into his eyes was enough to tell Antoine he understood completely. He and Nicole then headed back into the Operating Room, and the former slammed the doors behind him.

"Ant'?" said Sonia. "You okay?"

"I am fine, thank you. I am fine. I am…" And as Antoine kneeled to the ground, sobbing onto the wooden floor, and as Cream and Sonia and Manic rushed to comfort him, all that was sure was that he was anything but fine.

* * *

"Bloody drongos!" Dingo began to shift and ooze, turning himself into a pool of slime and moved away like a stream of water. Bunnie slammed into the dirt like a meteor, not that there was much to slam.

"Whoo! That felt good! And dizzy! Ya know, maybe I should've done those tests first…" After having landed on her feet, Bunnie started to wonder how long she'd stay awake. She was staggering from right to left, and while she was managing to reorient herself, she still had to wonder if this had been such a good idea.

"Oh for the love of…" As Shortfuse began to wonder why he'd even bothered to look after Miss Nothing's Wrong With Me, like a skilled pilot, he started to look for a good place to land. And as he noticed Dingo leaving a trail of ooze as he crawled across the plains, he found it. He let out a few blasts of laser fire around Dingo to let him know where he stood, and then landed straight in his path. "Goin' somewhere?"

Dingo didn't even bother to recompose. He instead tried to keep crawling across the grassy fields, to try and get out of this rather dire predicament anyway he could.

This was a mistake.

A faint rumbling in the earth served as a prelude to the mayhem to come. Dingo could just barely hear it, and as his heart began to race, he knew what was coming. A pillar of earth then shot up out of the ground and bent and shifted, the top coming towards Dingo to flatten him into the paste. He turned himself into a non-Mobian cat, leaping out of the way before changing into a seagull and soaring to the sky as he tried to get out of dodge.

Another blue blast of energy then shot right over his left wing. A red laser over the right. And a stone spike from below. They all came after another, again and again, and as each attack came, Dingo became more and more exhausted by the second. "BLOODY BIKES!" At last, he turned himself back into his original form and fell to the ground like a rock. His nostrils were flaring and his eyes were ready to pop out of his skull, as though he had simply had-

"ENOUGH! What the hell is it with you hoons?!"

At this point, Shortfuse had had enough as well. Or at least of Dingo's accent. "'Hoons'? The hell is he sayin' now?"

"'Hooligans'," said Chirps. "Which," he said to Dingo, "I've got to admit, is kind of quaint coming from you. You losing your touch?"

"You shut your yap! And just when did you get so powerful anyway?!"

Chirps barely even had to say so much as a single syllable. He gestured to the grass and the plains around him, almost as if soaking it all in. "Look around you. That may sound like the first line of some bad children's TV show, but the fact is, we're in my element. And what I just did is only a fraction of what I'm capable of. You stick around, and maybe I'll REALLY get serious. You wanna chance that?"

"Damn. You ratbag!"

"Why, thank you! Now, if you don't mind, you wanna clear on out of here before we pound you into paste? Because I'm pretty sure the rest of your guys are busy with the rest of our guys, and aside from a few bruises, our guys are making mincemeat out of them. Because none of you knew just what you were really up against. So why don't you clear on out of here before I stick something right up your ass?"

Bunnie was shocked. She hadn't known Chirps all that well, but from what she'd seen of him, she never thought she had this in him. He was always making puns, cracking jokes, and making as much as an ass out of himself as he could. And so, for all intents and purposes, this was something new.

Dingo was nearly foaming at the mouth. Mind you, contrary to popular belief, foaming at the mouth wasn't something most people could do on command, but seeing as Dingo could do nearly anything on command, that wasn't very far-fetched. "You always were a right blighter. Fine then! I'm out of here! Besides, it isn't like I've got to do much of anything anyway. All Eggman needs to do is send enough reinforcements to make mincemeat of the lot you."

Shortfuse shot another blast. It grazed Dingo's cheek like a bullet, and if it weren't for Dingo's particular talents, he would've been smarting like hell. "Anything else you wanna add?"

"Strewth!" Dingo took a good look around him. To the west, there was Chirps. To the south, there was Shortfuse. To the north, there was Bunnie. And to the east, there was a fierce battle going on only so many yards away. And it wasn't one his side was winning. "Bloody hell. You win. For now. But this isn't the end of it! Bloody bikes." He then turned himself into a raven, and as he soared into the heavens, they knew he was right. Shortfuse raised his arm and fired another shot, but Dingo managed to evade it just barely. Though he still suffered from a singed feather or two.

"You got lucky," said Shortfuse, lamenting that he hadn't been able to down Dingo with one single blast.

"WE got lucky," said Chirps. He wiped beads of sweat from his brow, glistening under the autumn sun. "The only thing holding Dingo back is that he's got as much courage as a pack of hoagies. If he ever had half a brain, he could take us easy. And he still nearly took me."

Shortfuse couldn't help but be impressed. "Ya know, this is the first time I've ever seen you take thing things seriously. For you anyway. Makes a guy wonder."

"Then I guess I'll have to fix that. Either way, we've still got some cleanup to do."

"Right!" said Bunnie. Let's all go whoop some butt! And no lookin' back."

"You're gonna have to explain when you started zipping around as the Six Million Dollar Bunny."

"Come again?"

"You Wood Zone folks don't really get out much, do you? Anyway, let's get moving!" And so they did. Shortfuse jetted once more into the sky while Bunnie tried her to best keep herself airborne.

As for Chirps, he had the rare opportunity to do something extraordinary. Placing his hand on the ground, powerful vibrations rippled throughout his body and caused his jacket to flutter in the wind. A large mound of earth then rose up below him, lifting him high into the air. He concentrated as his eyes went steely, almost as if he saw something no-one else could. The mound then formed two small rocky manacles and fasted them around Chirp's legs before tearing through the landscape like a wild beast. The wind rushed past him, his comb flew in the wild breeze, and all Chirps could say was that he was, "Born to be wild, baby!"

Back in the thick of it, the battle wasn't going so well. For Eggman, that was. While Mina and co hadn't managed to trash each and every last bot, they were coming close, and it would only be a matter of time before they routed the lot of them. That said, some of the more specialised troops were giving them a run for their money.

In a more secluded area of the battlefield, Johnny and Sir Logik were still going at it. Johnny wasn't a match for Logik in terms of pure strength, but his new double-sided mace more than evened the odds. With his skill backing him up, he was a force to be reckoned with, and as their weapons clashed again and again, Logik knew it. In fact, he was ecstatic.

"Beautiful! Truly astonishing! I must admit, your skill with that weapon of yours is a sight to behold! Where did you learn to fight with such finesse, if I may ask?"

Johnny was standing a ways from Logik, his weapon at the ready, all set to tear him a new one. So as one might expect, being asked such a question in that particular situation took him a mite off-guard.

"We're in the middle of fighting for our lives, and you're wondering how I learned to kick your ass? Get your priorities straight!"

"Forgive me, but whenever I see such extraordinary skill as yours, I cannot help but observe it. Still, let us see how you fare with something a bit more out of your comfort zone, shall we?"

With one motion of his thumb, he pressed a button on his trident. Like a bolt from on high, it let out a blast of crackling electricity that would give Thunderbolt a run for her money. If Johnny had gone up against Sir Logik as far back as yesterday, he would have been screwed, but now, he had a few tricks up his sleeve. With one press of a button, his prayers were answered. A grey force-field popped up around Johnny, with the mace as the epicentre. The blast struck it with all the force of an explosion, and yet, nothing happened. The blast was dispersed, deflected away like a mighty waterfall splitting into two upon a large, dense rock before slowly tapering off. In short, it hadn't been what he was expecting.

Before Logik could form a substantial thought, Johnny decided to beat him at his own game. He pressed another button. The forcefield dissipated in an instant. Instead, he held out his staff like a magic wand, and out came a blast of energy that would make Bunnie envious. Logik produced his own forcefield in kind, but it barely blocked the blast. "Zounds!"

But Johnny wasn't done. Right after he fired the blast, he tightened his grip and pressed the third and final button. Like a mighty bird, he flew at Logik like a charging Eagle. He then began to batter Logik's forcefield, whacking it again and again, grunting until said grunts soon evolved into wild shouts and screams, and soon Logik was doing his best just to stay standing. With each blow, the field slowly began to dissipate little by little, until it finally fell. Like a mighty knight whose fortress had crumbled around him, Logik could scarcely believe it. "Good Gaea…"

With Logik momentarily finding any and all logic escaping him, Johnny pressed for the final blow, swinging his mace like a mighty axe and lobbing his head clean off his neck. Had Logik been human or his head not been repairable, Johnny wouldn't have even thought about going to such extremes, but that both of these were the case led to him having little to no qualms about going all in. It almost made him wonder what he'd be capable of if he started to listen to what Hershey and some of the others had been telling him. Almost.

Meanwhile, Sonic was having a field day. He was running circles around Thunderbolt and Grounder's blasts, the two of them carving a trail into the plains as they tried and failed to make Sonic the deadest hedgehog alive.

"Hey!" said Grounder. "Slow down, hedgehog! I gotta capture you if I want a chance at being promoted!"

"Promoted, 'schmoted!" said Thunderbolt. "All that matters is doing what Eggy-poo thinks best! And maybe then I finally get the attention from him that I deserve!"

"Oh, brother!" Sonic decided to cut the farce. He made a mad dash for Grounder, zipping and darting past nearly every blast until he was already halfway there.

Grounder started to panic like a scared child out of his depth. "Uh, he's getting closer! What do we do?!"

"Calm down!" Just then, as though lightning struck her brain, Thunderbolt had an epiphany. "That's it!" She started to fire another blast of electricity, but just as Sonic began pouring on the juice, she powered down straight away. She came right back on and changed the direction of her blast, putting it directly ahead of the blue blur himself. By the time Sonic got the memo, he was already being blasted off his feet and dazed by a surge of epic proportions.

"I GOT YOU! I GOT YOU!" And upon making this declaration, she promptly laughed like a Gaea-forsaken manic. Even Grounder had chills.

"Uh," said Grounder, "that's great and all, , but how you'd do it?"

"It's simple! Shoot where he's going to be! By the time he realizes what's up, there shouldn't be much else he can do about it! Now, shall we?"

"Uh, okay. If you say so. Just make sure I get to capture Sonic!"

"Whatever! He's coming to! It's do or die!"

"Well, I can't die. So I guess I'll be A-okay!"

Sonic quickly began to come to, and he started to wonder how that even happened. "Yeesh. What hit me?"

Another blast from Thunderbolt came, and another from Grounder. And another and another and another. One blast kept Sonic from going a certain way, while the other nearly toasted his hiney. Of course, his sheer speed still should have been enough to overcome it all. The problem was that there was not one blast, but two. With Thunderbolt leading the way, they were fired in so strategic a manner that he found himself being nearly sizzled at every turn, and it wasn't a prospect he relished. There had to have been a way to take the both of them out, to level the play field. And as he looked straight between Grounder and Thunderbolt, he seemed to finally have found a way.

He zipped straight ahead. Not toward the prospect of freedom, but rather to a large vacant space between Thunderbolt and Grounder. Big enough to run through and get out of there in one piece. He quickly zipped on over, and just as Thunderbolt and Grounder realized their mistakes, they fired full stop.

"Oh." Was all Thunderbolt could say. Next thing they knew, those two blasts had created a small explosion right in between the two of them, and it was enough to send the both of them blasting off to Kingdom Come.

Grounder careened straight into a tree, his thick neck bending until it resembled a battered twisting pipe. "Oh, lookie! All the pretty stars…"

Thunderbolt meanwhile had been blown straight out of the battle zone. She was only unconscious for the briefest of moments before she came to like a sleepy child, but when she did, the only reaction she could deem for the sight that lay before her was sheer and utter horror. Nearly all of the robots had been busted into smithereens, and the ones that weren't were soon on their way there. Logik had had his head lopped off, and Coconuts and Scratch had apparently knocked each other unconscious purely out of sheer dumb luck and stupidity. And while the heroes were undoubtedly battered and bruised, they were still standing.

This wasn't a simple failure. This wasn't even an unmitigated disaster. This was a fiasco. Most people knew of fiascos as folk tales told to others that made them feel more alive because they hadn't happened to them. But this was no folk tale. And whatever situation Thunderbolt was in, she was sitting knee deep in it. She reached into her nearest pocket and pulled out her phone. Beating down on the keypad like a madwoman, she tried to call her dearest Eggy-poo. He'd know what to do!

She hoped.


	33. Track and Field, Part 5

"Tell me something, Nicole. Is there even a sliver of a chance of pulling this off?"

Quack and his trained staff were clad in their operating masks and attire, all huddled over the operating table with the proper utensils in each hand. The room itself wasn't very fancy. It had everything you could need for this sort of situation, but other than that, that was it. Not that Quack ever needed much else.

Nicole was placed on a small wheeled table next to Quack. She almost seemed cramped on such a little space, as if she were begging to jump off (not that she could,) and be somewhere more spacious. More free. But that was neither here nor there.

"UNFORTUNATELY, THAT IS UNCERTAIN. THERE IS NO REASON FOR ME NOT TO ATTEMPT TO DEACTIVATE THE TRACKER REMOTELY, BUT I FEAR THAT EVEN IF I SUCCEED, I MAY STILL DOOM ANTOINE'S FATHER IN THE PROCESS. IT DOES NOT HELP THAT PREVENTING EGGMAN AND HIS LACKIES FROM DISABLING THE SIGNALS OR HACKING INTO MY NETWORK HAS BEEN A RATHER TAXING ORDEAL. IF I WERE AT FULL CAPACITY, ANTOINE'S FATHER MIGHT HAVE STOOD A BETTER CHANCE OF RECOVERY."

"I'm a doctor, not a statistician," said Quack. "And you're not one either. All you can do is give it your all and go from there.

"I AGREE," said Nicole.

"You know, for a computer, you're not half-bad."

"I WILL TAKE THAT AS A COMPLIMENT. NOW, SHALL WE PROCEED?"

Nicole did her part. Her screen dimmed, all life seemingly vanishing from it all together like a fading screensaver. She concentrated, doing her best to locate the heart of the tracker and deactivate it from within. For more complicated operations, she might have had to delve into it herself, but in this case, this was something she could do (or at least attempt,) from a distance blindfolded.

Or so she thought.

She managed to sense the heart of the device, and once it was within her grasp, she tried to gently find just the right spot and send it forever into technological limbo.

Of course, it wouldn't be so easy.

"How are you doing so far?" said Quack.

"NOT TOO WELL," said Nicole. "I HAVE LOCATED WHAT I NEED TO TURN OFF THE DEVICE, BUT IT APPEARS THAT IT MAY NOT BE SO SIMPLE."

"How so?"

"I CAN SENSE ALL SORTS OF SWITCHES AND FAILSAFES WITHIN THE DEVICE. IF I MAKE SO MUCH AS A SINGLE MISTAKE, MARCUS IS DONE FOR."

"Tell us something we don't know."

"INDEED. I WILL BEGIN." A low hum then came from Nicole's processor as she began the process. It gradually grew in intensity, then waned before growing again. The sound grew higher, than lower. Higher, than lower again. It was like a seesaw, going up and down, up and down, until—"

"GAEA!" Quack and the rest of the staff clasped their hands over their ears as one shrill beep echoed throughout the room. At the same time, Marcus' body jumped up and shook with one fierce jolt… and then it limped like a ragdoll. The cardiac monitor which had been steady up until now suddenly flatlined and any breaths of air from Marcus' body stopped altogether.

"DAMN! QUICK, JOLT HIM!" As Quack gave the order, a young medic holding a pair of electric pads slammed them on Marcus' chest. It caused Marcus' body to shake and jump up the tiniest amount, but that was it.

"AGAIN!"

Same result.

"DAMN IT!" Quack and his staff tried again. And again. And again. They tried drugs, they tried needles, they tried everything they could possibly conceive of. But in the end, all it amounted to was…

"Nothing, sir," said one of the medics.

Quack slowly slipped off his mask, as though he knew the battle had been lost. "Damn it all to the abyss." He looked at the flatlined monitor, as though he were staring into a green and black void. And he almost couldn't bring himself to care.

Just then, Nicole managed to bring herself back online, though what she saw when she came to was nothing short of heart-wrenching.

"…No."

Quack didn't even notice the change in Nicole's tone. He was too wrapped up in everything else to care. "You picked a fine time come back on. So. I take it it didn't work out, huh?"

"I MANAGED TO DEACTIVATE THE DEVICE. IF NOTHING ELSE, EGGMAN WILL NOT BE ABLE TO DISCOVER US, AT LEAST FOR THE PRESENT. BUT I STILL FAILED. I failed. HOW COULD I HAVE FAILED?"

"Funny. Not too long ago, you didn't seem too miffed about acknowledging that this might turn out to be one giant tragedy in the end."

"I KNOW. BUT SOMETHING ABOUT… this one. SOMETHING ABOUT HIM. BEFORE, I WOULD HAVE TAKEN THIS IN STRIDE. I knew, I KNOW THAT FAILURE WAS A DISTINCT POSSIBILITY. EVEN A PROBABLE ONE. BUT TO ACTUALLY SEE IT FIRST HAND. AND TO HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO STOP IT. And I failed. Miserably."

"Everybody fails. In my line of work, you see a lot of failures. And sure, sometimes, it takes a ways before you understand. But sometimes, all you can do is accept what happened and move on. Because there's not much else you CAN do."

"Perhaps."

And Nicole, looking around the room as best she could in her little screen, wondered what it was she should have done. Could have done. And it wasn't good enough.

* * *

"Any luck, Snively?"

Snively had been attempting to cancel out the numerous signals that had popped up on the monitor over half an hour ago. He had also been trying to repair commutations, which not so coincidentally become a lot less stable at the same time those signals had appeared. And he was also trying to locate the source of said signals and everything else. And on every single count, he had come up with absolutely bubkus. As he tugged his collar, it was clear that he wasn't particularly thrilled about this. And he had good reason not to be.

"No, sir. Very sorry, sir."

"I see. Snively?"

"Yes, sir?"

"If you aren't able to deliver SOMETHING within the next hour, I'm afraid I'm going to have settle for using that nose of yours as my personal bottle opener. You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

Snively's eyes went wide, though he was more shocked and confused than anything else. "Uh, ahem, yes sir. To be fair, I'm doing my best, but—"

"But it isn't good enough, is it?"

As Snively began to wonder if he should have chosen a very different career path, Grimer saw fit to step in. "Forgive me, but I couldn't help but point out that perhaps you're being a tad too hard on your nephew. After all, you aren't sure what to make of this either, correct?"

Eggman couldn't help but agree. "I suppose. Still, I couldn't imagine any of this being as hard as laughing boy's making it out to be."

"This is harder than it looks," said Snively. "I've attempted to sort through various signals, but I've been unable to touch a single one. I would guess that our band of Freedom Fighters has a technical savant on their side. He would have to be ridiculously capable to be able to put such a hamper on our communications, let alone our hacking programs. Had I more time, I believe I would still have been able to bypass their systems, but as you've made perfectly clear, time is something you're not willing to give me. Or at least not much of."

"I see." In Eggman-speak, that roughly translated to 'I could not give two figs.' "I appreciate your honesty, but the fact of the matter is, I need all of this done sooner or later. And if someone isn't up to the task, well, then something must be done about that. Wouldn't you agree?"

Before Snively could answer, the phone rang again, and the lot of them were wondering what could possibly have been the problem now? As if they had to ask. Eggman reached over to a small table next to the monitor and picked it up, hoping that his technicians were about to tell him that the matter had resolved itself in short order. Fat chance of that.

"Yes? This is Doctor Eggman speaking. If you don't mind, we're in something of a hurry here, so… Thunderbolt? Yes? Yes. Decimated, you say? Well, that does sound grave. Very grave. So grave that I have the inclination to put one of your feet in it! In any case, we can't send in reinforcements any more than you can take care of that blasted hedgehog from the looks of things. At the very least, I'll send in Swifty. Whether he'll be there to try and turn the tide, get you out of there, or help you meet your maker will depend on exactly where we're at. Eggman out."

Eggman slammed the phone down upon the receiver next to the monitor, his face livid and as red as a beet.

Grimer stepped forward, attempting to do his part to prevent the good doctor from spraying egg all over everyone else. "If I may be so bold, perhaps it would be in everyone's best interests to call this operation off? It's clear that things are not going according to plan, and it's also clear that you gravely underestimated these Freedom Fighters. Perhaps we all did. And so the prudent course of action might be to fall back, regroup, and try another time."

The colour began to drain in Eggman's face, the red disappearing until all was as it was. Along with a despondent Eggman to show for it. "I know. But I was SO CLOSE, Grimer! The plan was simple. Activate the tracker, bombard the forest, massacre that so-called group of Freedom Fighters and spill their lilly-livered guts out. Instead, they just so happen to possess hacking capabilities that far exceed our own, and our seemingly ideal fighting force was far from ideal. It's going to take more than what I sent out to deal with them. Far more. Still, there might be a way to salvage this. Perhaps if I can—"

Just then, like the twinkling of stars, all of the signals suddenly and immediately blinked out as they disappeared from the map

"Snively?" said Eggman.

"Yes, sir?" said Snively.

"Please tell me there's even so much as one signal remaining on the monitor."

"I could, but that wouldn't be very truthful. Would it, sir?"

"No. I suppose it wouldn't. But it would certainly make me feel as though I hadn't been completely and utterly bamboozled."

"Quite, sir. In hindsight, all of this would have been so much easier if we had just been able to hack their systems from the start. The problem is that I haven't been able to find a single trace. Obviously, they must have found a way to filter any and all intranet signals, or else we might have been able to locate them via wifi alone. We would have been able to upload a virus, stand a better chance at cancelling out all of those blasted fake signals, ANYTHING. Instead, they got the better of us. Likely by using the signal from that tracker no doubt. Though I still don't see how they could have bested us so easily."

As Snively continued to monologue, Eggman started to grin. His eyes soon lit up like a manic, and he began to have an awful, terrible idea. (Though it was amazing as far as he was concerned.)

"Sir?"

"Something we should know about?" said Grimer.

Eggman was practically ecstatic. "Boys, we may have lost the battle, but we've far from lost the war, and I have several new ideas in mind that might just give those whelps a run for their money. In the meantime, discretion is the better part of valor, I hate to say. Call it off. But by no means is this the end."

"Yes, sir."

As Eggman began to walk towards his quarters, he suddenly turned toward Snively, as though he had just remembered something he had always meant to say. "Oh, and one more thing.

"And what, pray-tell, would that be?"

"Do you remember that project we were working on a couple of years back?"

"Yes. Something about exploding vomit?"

"No, the other one. 'Free Thinking Artificial Intelligence'. Does that ring a bell?"

"Somewhat. Your point, sir?"

"Bring up Project Thorndyke."

* * *

"But Eggman, sir! Sir! EGGYPOO!"

Thunderbolt had been abandoned. She had asked for reinforcements, even begged, but all her lord and master Eggman said was 'Maybe.' Or he might as well have. The battle was still raging on, but she could tell which way the tide was turning. With her out of the way and all of the more powerful robots beat, all that was left was mopping up the rest. If something weren't done soon, then that would be it. Was this the end for her?

Just then, a green blur came darting onto the scene like a sickening laser blast. It spun and whirled and whirred before slowing down and staying as still as it could. Thunderbolt's eyes came on like a lightbulb.

"Swifty?"

"You'd better believe it, chica! And as much as I've love to stay and bust in some heads, the bossman's made it clear he wants you out of here ASAP. Somethin' bout how it just isn't worth it. Figures it'd be easier to just do what he said." Swifty then held out one outstretched hand, waiting for her to follow suit. "I don't got all day."

So this was it then. Defeat. Defeat and utter, abject humiliation. She had failed. And now, her chances of becoming Eggman's number one henchwoman had suddenly become that much smaller. Though after that last phone call, she'd started to question whether or not being so obsessed with him was a good thing.

In any case, she needed to make up her mind. With trepidation, her face went stony, and she seized Swifty's hand like the last resort it was. "Took you long enough," he said. And in a flash, they were off.

Meanwhile, as they were finishing up the last of the robots, Johnny received a message from a tiny transceiver hidden in his ear. Sally was on the other end. From the sound of it, things were over, but it wasn't exactly a cause for celebration. Though Sonic certainly seemed in the mood.

"Booyah! We came, we saw, we kicked ass! What more needs to be said?"

"A lot," said Johnny. He took his hand off of his ear where an automatic transceiver had been placed, and he didn't seem too pleased. In fact, he was almost pissed. "They managed to deactivate the tracker. Destroying it shouldn't be too much trouble."

"Well, that's good, ain't it?" said Bunnie, with her and the others having long since made it to the fray. "Means we ain't got much to worry about it. Don't it?"

"Afraid not. They deactivated the tracker alright. But…" Johnny slowly hung his head low, as if he nearly couldn't bear to say what was coming next. And yet, with their closed eyes and folded arms, Chirps and Big already seemed to know the answer. Or at least the gist. "…we had a casualty."

Everyone except for Chirps, Big, and Shortfuse gasped. And even Shortfuse's small red pupils seemed to briefly grow, becoming that much more intense then they'd been until now. And they knew just who it was. "Oh no…" whispered Bunnie.

Mina was aghast, and Amy wasn't sure what to do, but Sonic was a different story. "Johnny, please tell me you're kidding. You ARE just kidding, right? Right?"

Johnny didn't say a word. Nor did he have to do. The pained look on his face said just as much as an entire novel would.

Sonic wasn't sure what else to say at first. His eyes went wide, his fist clenched, his teeth gritted, but he still couldn't get out so much as a single syllable. That is, until he could. "I'm going back. Besides, if Johnny's right, it means the tracker's finally out of there. Everyone comin' with, grab a hand and hop aboard. I ain't got all day."

After a somewhat prolonged period of silence, half formed a link on Mina, and the other on Sonic. And yet, something seemed to be different about the blue blur. He seemed driven, motivated, intense. Which weren't words that usually described him very well. But if what he had heard about Marcus was true, then today was a very different day. As soon as everyone grabbed hold, Sonic did it to it, and off he went.

* * *

Antoine was sitting hunched over in the waiting room. Sonia, Manic, and Cream had all tried to comfort him, but to no avail. He had practically cried out an entire flood, but now, with bags under his eyes and his face sitting right on top of his open hands, he no longer knew what to think. Or maybe he was just drained. Either one was possible. Or maybe both.

Just then, a rather loud series of clanks could be heard down the hallway. And they were getting closer and closer by the second. Both Sonia and Manic started to ready their weapons, while Cream crouched down and moved ever closer to Antoine as best she could.

"You think it's Eggface?" said Sonia.

"Don't know,'" said Manic. "Still, doesn't hurt to be prepared."

The clanks continued to grow ever and ever closer, gaining in volume and intensity, until their owner turned the corner to face Manic and Sonia head on and they could finally see whoever had been making such a racket

"Bunnie?!"

Both Sonia and Manic could scarcely believe it, but there she was. After Sonic raced them all back to Knothole, she hadn't wasted a second. "ANT'!" She rushed over to Antoine, still sitting there so lifeless, and she knew she couldn't leave him that way. Not after what happened. Instead, she bent down, closed her eyes, and gave him the hug of her life. Antoine's eyes went wide and a shrill 'YEEP!' could be heard throughout the room, and it was clear that that probably did the trick.

"My word!" said Cream.

"Bunnie?" said Antoine, finally realizing just where in the world he was. "What are you—"

"Don't say a thing. Just sit there and look pretty."

Antoine could scarcely believe what was going on. "But, madam Bunnie—"

She then looked deeply into Antoine's eyes, as if an entire lifetime could be felt from them. Whether or not it was actually possible was currently mute. "Hush. You've done so much for me. Now let me do this for you. Sugar."

Cream wasn't sure what to think. Manic knew what to think, and he tried to keep his mind from going to the gutter as much as he could. Sonia also knew what to think, and as her hands clasped together, she was nearly ready to start writing a Bunnie/Antoine fanfiction as soon as she could put pen to paper.

But Bunnie and Antoine didn't care about that. All Bunnie knew was that the Mobian who saved her, who continued to treat her as if she were a completely normal Mobian being and not some freak, the Mobian who was so timid and smart and funny and loyal and so darn BRAVE in spite of everything stacked against him. That now, he was the one who needed help. And she wanted to give it.

As everyone sat or stood there like a tabula, Antoine couldn't help but bring his arms around her, and tears started to once again flow from his eyes like a stream. And in spite of everything, Bunnie couldn't help but smile.


	34. Fireside Chat

_**Hi, everybody! I just wanted to say how much it means to me that all of you are still sticking with me and this series after so long. It means just as much as this series means to me. This is probally the first thing I've worked on where I've managed to develop a solid work ethic, to the point where pumping out over 700 words most days is just something I do. Needless to say, I've still got plenty of plans for this series, both into the new year and beyond, and I hope you enjoy it! And last but not least, I know that with everything going on in the world, it can be hard to get yourself in a merry mood, but I still feel this needs to be said: Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year!**_

* * *

"And that's how the evil chilli dog from hell freed Bun and saved Gaea's Solstice! How was that?"

Sonic, Tails, Johnny, Manic, and Bunnie were all sitting around a campfire in the middle of Knothole forest. The fire was warm and crackling like a small sun, and though everyone already had their fur and quills to keep them toasty, one couldn't say it didn't set the mood. The thick, tall trees with their red and brown leaves loomed over them like spectres, and the dark skies were dotted with brilliant, shining stars as though they were angels from on high. All in all, it was the perfect setting for a ghost story.

Not that Sonic told it particularly well. Between the ghost being both an evil chilli dog and somehow the hero of the story, as well as another character being a literal hotdog bun, one had to wonder if there wasn't something in that actual chilidog Sonic had just scarfed down. They all looked at their dogs, wondering if it would be best to save them for another day. Not that Bunnie had even touched hers, but that was neither here nor there. Or at least that's what she thought.

Manic, at the very least, was not amused. "Dude. You call that a ghost story?"

"Hey, it's like not like I wanted to tell it! I drew the short straw, remember?"

"Which still baffles me," said Tails. "Not that I'd condone it, but you had plenty of time to swoop in and rearrange the straws without us batting an eye. Course, you'd probably get stuck telling a story on account of us finding out anyhow, so I guess that's mute."

"You really do know how to stick up for your big bro, don't you, Tails?"

"Hey, can't blame the kid for being honest," said Manic, scarfing down a chili dog with the logic of, 'Hey, why not?' "Unlike you, he's got a solid head on his shoulders. No offence."

Sonic did his best not to scowl with contempt, though it didn't come easy. "All taken."

Meanwhile, Bunnie was busy trying her best to eat her own chilidog. And failing miserably at doing so. She opened her mouth to chomp into one like she meant it, but no dice. She tried again, this time going for a mere morsel. Nada. She finally attempted a simple small nibble, but sadly, it wasn't to be. And it wasn't something that Sonic didn't notice.

"Hey, Bunnie, what gives? You haven't even had a nibble. What gives? Don't tell me I scared you off the stuff?"

"Sorry, hon. No, it ain't that. It's just, I haven't really been all that hungry."

"I've noticed," said Tails. Ever since being promoted to a member of the Science Team a few days ago after the Track and Field incident, Tails had started acting a bit… odd. It was nothing that out of the ordinary, at least on its' own. He was more attentive, a bit more orderly, a tad more keen to get himself involved in other people's problems. Perhaps he was overcompensating for something? Nevertheless, it was nothing too intrusive. It was just… odd. "Are you sure there's nothing wrong with you?"

Bunnie sighed as if she knew he was right but couldn't bring herself to admit it. "I don't know. Maybe it's just everything that's been goin' on lately. With Antoine and his dad and everything else, maybe it's the stress that's gettin' to me."

"Let's hope so," said Johnny. "How's Antoine doing by the way? I didn't really get a chance to talk with him after we all got back to Knothole. Had to brief Sally and the others on what went down. Someone had to."

"It's hard to say. He's puttin' on a brave face and all, but underneath all that, I still think he's hurtin'. But knowin' he's got people rooting for him makes it a bit easier. And I'm doin' what I can too. It's gonna be tough, but I think, no, I know he's gonna make it. But he's also just gonna need some time to himself."

"I guess." Johnny drank a swig of water from his cantine as if giving himself time to change the subject. "So, those upgrades you've got. What brought those on, anyway?"

"Well, I guess I just felt it was something I had to do. Rotor had been bugging me to get myself up to snuff, but I didn't want anything to do with it. Until Ant' knocked some sense into me. I just felt that if there was no going back, then the only thing to do was move forward. And this seemed the best way of doing that. Course, now there's no way at all of goin' back. But if what Rotor said was true, I guess there wasn't any goin' back anyhow." She tried to eat the chilidog again. "No go."

Johnny couldn't help but notice her lack of appetite. "You okay?"

"Course I am! I'm right as rain! Nothin' to worry about! ...Ah, who am I kiddin'? Maybe there IS somethin' wrong with me."

"You sure you don't want to come in for a test?" said Tails. "Even just a check-up from Quack wouldn't be a bad idea."

"I'd like to say I'm just fine, but that would be fibbin,' wouldn't it? I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Alright," said Tails. "Just let me know when you want to come in and we'll see what we can do."

Sonic had been paying attention well enough, but his gaze had started to wander until Tails suddenly mentioned the lab. Which caused Sonic to get just a mite curious. Especially for him.

"So, lil bro. What you been up to over the last week? They all treating you okay? More importantly, when are you gonna start building Mobenstien's monster? If you're gonna be a mad scientist, you might as well do it right!"

Tails slid a hand down over his face as if he could scarcely believe the sheer idiocy that had just slipped past his ears. "I'm fine, big bro," said Tails. "Though thanks for asking. But no, I couldn't be happier! We're doing something in there all the time, whether it's something like building a new weapon, doing tests on Shortfuse, or trying to figure out how to break the forcefield around Mobotropolis. That sort of thing. And the best part of this is, they don't treat me like I'm just some kid; they treat me like one of the team!"

"Which you are," said Johnny.

"Yeah," said Manic. "Don't ever forget that, cuz'."

Tails was taken aback. "'Cuz'?"

"Well, if Sonic's gonna start calling you his lil' bro, then I guess that makes you me and Sonia's little cuz. Don't it?"

Tails hadn't really thought of it that way before. Though in hindsight, it made a strange sort of sense. "Oh. I guess it does. Thanks. Cuz."

"Don't mention it!" Manic laid back on the grass, staring up at the sea of stars above him. "You know, Johnny, you were saying something about all of these stars earlier. Something about how it's got something do with Gaea and a clown car?"

"Wasn't that how the evil chilidog got out of hell the first time around?" said Bunnie.

"Oh, yeah," said Manic. "Keep getting the clown car mixed up. My bad."

Johnny was not amused. "ANYWAY. Yeah, there's a story about the stars, alright. Back home, we got plenty. Much as I try to forget sometimes." He reached the top of his chest and pulled out his silver medallion, still wrapped around his neck as ever.

"Some say they're the result of Gaea crying its' eyes out when it realized just how sucky things were. That life isn't fair. That you can't take everything for granted. Then there's another where Gaea noticed everything was just a bit too dull around these parts, so it lit up the night sky to liven things up. Then there's another that says it's our spiritual punishment, for not believing in Gaea as much as we should. As far as I'm concerned, that one's a load of bull."

"Wow, sugar!" said Bunnie. "You come up with that all by yourself?"

"Nope. It's all ancient myths and legends. Though for most of us in Hilltop, it's all too real. Gaea's got a real strong following up there."

"Yeah," said Bunnie. "I mean, nearly everyone knows Gaea, but it's really strong over in the rural areas. My folks over in the Wood Zone plains are true believers, no joke. My folks. Oh, I hope they're alright."

Manic started to appear somewhat uncomfortable, oh so slightly shifting and turning in place as though he wasn't sure whether or not he should still have been there. "Well, at least you have 'em. Can't say the same for me."

"Hey," said Sonic, "you still got—"

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HIM!" The forest suddenly became still, the incessant chirping of the birds, the hooting of the owls, the wild calls of beasts having ceased to be. Johnny's eyes momentarily shifted toward a small bush over in the brush, but they quickly set their gaze back on Manic. His eyes were intense, burrowing into Sonic's like nothing else. And Bunnie and Tails weren't sure what to make of it.

"Whoa!" said Bunnie. "Calm down there, hon. Just—"

"Hold it," said Sonic. Surprisingly for the blue blur, he seemed the most calm and collected of all. As if this wasn't anything out of the ordinary for him. "Manic, it's okay. Sorry I said that. And all the other times I said it. We cool?"

It took a while. A long while. But eventually, it finally seemed to do the trick. Manic's gaze started to loosen, his jaw easing up as the forest returned to its' usual liveliness. Manic took deep, heavy breaths, almost as if the very act of getting serious had been an endurance test. "Yeah. Sorry about that, cuz. I shouldn't have snapped like that."

"You're right, you shouldn't have. But I shouldn't have brought him up either. My bad."

"Uh, I hate to ask," said Bunnie," but who's 'him'?"

Manic wasn't sure whether or not he even wanted to answer, but decided that after that little outburst, they had the right to know why. "My father. Not that I ever knew him. He had a little one-night stand back with my mother years ago. Next thing she knew, he was long-gone and, within a month, she'd found out she was pregnant. She was already struggling to make ends meet; he had to knock her up and leave her in the middle of the night without so much as giving a 'by your leave'?!"

Manic slowly slid a palm over his face, as if he almost couldn't bear to say another word. And yet, with everyone hanging on what he said next, he did.

"My mother hated me. No, that's not it. She hated HIM. And seeing my lil' face every morning, well, that didn't really help matters, did it? I didn't get "I love you," or "have a nice day," or "watch out for that icy patch. "For me, it was, 'Your father was a misbegotten deadbeat,' or 'why did you have to fuck everything up,' or "I wish you'd never been born." Little nuggets of wisdom. How's that for motherly love?"

Bunnie, Johnny, and Tails could scarcely hear another word. Whereas Sonic could swear he'd heard it all a million times. And as for Manic, he was nearly ready to break down into tears. But not just yet.

"If he had been there. If he'd been there, maybe things would've been different. Maybe she'd still be here. Maybe I wouldn't have been stuck on the streets barely getting by. Maybe I'd actually have a family. Instead, I'm a recovering kleptomaniac who cries out for mommy in his sleep. Because I guess even though she hated my guts, I still loved her. How's that for fucked up?"

"Hey, it's not all bad," said Sonic. "You met me, didn't you? And Sonia."

"Wait a cotton pickin' minute," said Bunnie. "How long have you guys known each other anyway?"

"Just three years. That's when Sonia found him. We didn't even know we had another cuz'."

"It was purely luck of the draw," said Manic. "If she hadn't found me when she did, if she hadn't noticed the family resemblance, if I hadn't told her what I'm telling you—"

"He'd still have been stuck on the streets till doomsday," said Sonic. "Basically, Sonia and her folks were on a trip to Stardust City when they managed to run into Manic. One thing led to another and now we've got another cuz'. And we've had him for three years."

"Yeah." Manic scratched the back of his head as if everything was only now coming into scope. "Since then, I've been staying at Sonia's, mooching off her folks and living the high-life. Which I gotta tell ya, after spending so long wondering if dirty old shoes were edible out of desperation, it's like a Godsend. But sometimes I wonder if I deserve it. Or if I belong there. It's like something out of a fairy tale. And fairy tales just aren't something I believe in."

"Sounds like you should," said Bunnie. "I mean, you've got a family, a home, and you're kinda filthy stinking rich. All I know is if I ever wound up in that kind of life, I think I'd be a mite more grateful."

Manic was put on the spot. "And I am! But it doesn't change how I feel. About everything. Or about HIM."

Johnny felt another outburst was coming on, so he felt it was time to head it off at the pass while he still could. He stretched out his arms and slowly got up off the ground, like a monkey awakening from a long rest. "Right! It's been fun, but we've got a hell of a day tomorrow. Or at least some of us do."

Indeed. As they all knew, Harvey and his networks had noticed something odd going on in the more mountainous regions of the island. Strange vibrations, odd tremors, and just a touch of volcanic activity. All of this was looked at by the Science Team, and while they couldn't verify it on account of not actually being there, they were still pretty certain there was SOMETHING going on. And so, with Johnny at the helm and one of the scientists tagging along, they were set to go straight off the next day. And as for where exactly they were heading to…

"Right," said Tails. "The Hilltop Zone seems to be the source of the vibrations, so that's where we're going to have to go."

"Yeah. And seeing as that's where I'm from, I guess I've been drafted." He looked at the gleaming pendant still hanging around his neck. It glistened in the pale moonlight, almost as if bathing in its' radiance. He wanted so badly to turn away so that he wouldn't have to look at it a second longer. So that he wouldn't have to remember. But what good would that do him? He clenched it tight and held it close, vowing never to forget. As he had often done. Because as far as he was concerned, he couldn't afford to.

Just then, a faint rustle could be heard in the bushes. Most of the others didn't hear so much as a pin drop, with Manic being the only one besides Johnny who heard it. The both of them look intently at a nearby bush, and as they looked at one another, they both knew what to do. They started to turn back towards the rest of the group, both pretending that they hadn't noticed the bush in the end. That everything was as it should have been.

Which it wasn't. As soon as they were about to sit back down, they lunged for the bush like wild dogs going for the jugular.

"WHOA! DOWN DOGGIES!" Sticks leapt out of the bush, landing in the centre of the camp and just in front of the campfire. She was the same as ever, dressed in nothing but a loincloth and a strap of cloth to cover her breasts, and just as wild. Or at least just as much as ridiculously paranoid. "BACK, YOU SCURVY DOGS! I'M ON TO YOU! I'M NOT GONNA LET YOU SUCK ALL THE COCAINE OUT OF OUR CHILDREN'S BRAINCELLS IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT! WHICH I DON'T! SO WHY AM I STILL TALKING?!"

"That's what I want to know." Johnny was busy dusting himself off, same as Manic, as he started to confront that little pile of insanity head-one. "Just what the hell were you doin', anyway?"

"Oh, that. Well, first I was busy picking some goober juice from the goober trees. Everyone thinks they're cherries, but they're really goobers, so no-one wants 'em. More for me, I say!"

"Don't tell us that was it," said Manic.

"It wasn't, actually." For a second, something seemed to change in Sticks. Her stance became more straightened, her gaze more rational. Everything about her readjusted itself like a slight change to a picture frame, and while she looked the same as ever, the real difference was within. For once in her life, she actually seemed capable of holding a conversation. For up to ten minutes anyway.

"Look," she said. "I know I shouldn't have been eavesdropping. One of the last social skills I remember before being dropped in the boonies. In fact, sides from the Mobian language, it's one of the only things I remember. And the other one is the Hilltop Zone."

Tails was curious. "The Hilltop Zone? You don't think that maybe…"

"That maybe that's where I'm from? I do, yeah. Course, I didn't even remember that so much as a minute ago. Wish I would've remembered where I put . And trust me, you don't want to know about . Just nipping that in the bud." And as everyone started to wonder what the hell was , Sticks decided in a rare moment of intelligence to get to the point.

"Anyway, as soon as you mentioned it, I remembered. The blue, checkered mountains, the burning pits of magma that have no real reason to be in a frigging mountain, seriously, why are they there?!"

"That's something I've been wondering all my life," said Johnny.

"But anyway, yeah. I remember alright. Only that's all I remember. I still don't remember my parents. Not really. Sides from how my Dad used to put on women's dresses. Of all the things I'd remember, I'm kind of impressed that's the one. Makes me wonder about ME."

"Okay, TMI." Manic put his vertical left hand underneath his horizontal right hand as if to say 'time-out'. "So what you're saying is, you wanna come over to the Hilltop zone to see if there's any sign of your folks?"

"That about sums it up."

Johnny put a hand on his chin, as this was something that needed a bit of thinking. "Well, I guess if Sally's fine with it, then there's no reason why you can't. Just gotta make sure with her first. Sides, with how hectic things can get up there, you might even come in handy."

"Really? Thanks! Trust me, you ain't gonna regret this! But you wanna know who WILL regret this? The dusparticlians! The dusparticilians inhabit each and every molecule of a molucle on Mobius, but that's not even the worst of it because let me tell you, someday the high-lord Pussybottoms is gonna come on his giant pussy-bobsled and tell them, 'TAKE US TO YOUR LEADER!' to which they're just gonna say, 'Grab em by the pussy", cause their souls are all bought and paid for by the giant pussy-kat from hell and—"

"On second thought, maybe we will…"

* * *

'No… What are you doing to… Hey, what… wait… STOP!'

Chirps lurched forward as though he had nearly stumbled. He had been sitting on a terrace dead centre in Knothole Village, kicking back and taking in the gorgeous night sky as he downed a few bottles of whiskey. And it was just as he was about to finish his first bottle that out of the blue, he remembered. It wasn't much, but it was something. And it still filled him with all manner of dread. He tried to get back to his brewski, but right then and there, sitting by himself in the middle of the night, he just wasn't sure if he could. Which wasn't something he ever thought he would hear himself think.

"Mind if I join you?"

Chirps' gaze raced to his left. Standing in front of the Terrace was… a giant putrid mass of blubber? No, that wasn't right. The booze must have been getting to his brain. He shut his eyes and rubbed them as hard as he could, and when he opened them, he saw… a pile of blubber. Though at least this one had a name. "Big, right? Never thought I'd see a beached whale walking around these parts."

"None taken," said Big, even though he could think of a number of offences for that particular remark. "So is that a yes?"

Not seeing any reason why he couldn't join him, Chirps motioned for him to take a seat. Even if he would have preferred to be alone. "So, what brings you out here this time of night? Looking for some late-night munchies?"

"Kinda, yeah. But then I saw you. And I'd already heard about what went down earlier today. And I figured you needed someone to talk to. So here I am."

Chirps almost wanted to tell him where he could stick it. That he didn't need someone to talk to. That he wanted to be alone. But as he opened his big gaping beak, all he could say was, "And here you are."

"Not much of a talker tonight, are we?"

Chirps couldn't help but chuckle, even if only for a moment. "You've got a point. I guess I've got a lot on my mind. Which is a terrible thing to waste. Sorry. Stream of consciousness. Happens a lot."

"I've noticed." Big took a spare brewski and, with one swift motion of his thumb, popped it wide open. As soon as he did, the frog on Big's shoulder began to quiver and squirm, as though that whiskey was too tempting to pop up. "Sorry, Froggy. Last time, you put on drag and did the hula. And we don't want that happening again, do we?"

Froggie slumped down on Big's shoulder, knowing that, for one reason or another, he was right.

"You want to talk? Fine. How's this for a bedtime story? I don't remember too much about my past before I wound up in the Green Hill Zone. I've got bits and pieces. Enough to know I used to be with the Battle Bird Armada, and that I'd either been a merc or a cop before they did what they did."

"I hate to ask, but who did what?"

Chirps almost didn't want to answer. He sat there for the longest of times, gazing up at the bright, shining moon and stars before taking a deep, heavy breath and making a choice. He then looked Big right in the eyes and tore open his black leather jacket, forcing the zipper open and revealing a countless amount of white feathers underneath. But there was something else there that was of far greater interest. Something straight in the middle. And Big couldn't help but be confuzzled. It was a small green emerald, bright as could be, like something on display in a museum. And it was stuck right in at the top of Chirp's chest.

"You see this? This was stuck in me ages ago. Fifty years, I think. It's why I can do what I do. And why I've been right at forty for fifty years now. Only I'm not sure how it got there."

"That's somethin'." Strangely enough, Big wasn't the only one looking at the green shard. Froggy was doing the same. He was practically mystified, staring at the thing as though it was some sort of idol. As if it were calling to him. Thankfully, Big noticed it right off. "Hey, Froggy! Quit it!" And he did. And Big went right back to staring at the sizeable piece of emerald lodged in Chirps' chest.

"All I remember is someone sticking me on a table and cutting me open like a can of sardines. And Dingo. He's there too. Right on the other table. Right next to me. And the same exact thing's happening to him."

"Sounds kinda morbid."

Chirps rubbed his eyes, as though he were struggling to piece together what little he could. Or perhaps he was merely trying to keep his sanity intact. "And a name. Well, maybe just one. Hell, I only remembered it yesterday. When Dingo brought it up."

"And what name's that? Groucho Harps?"

"Promise you won't tell anyone else? Because if you do, I'll have to kill you. Okay, I won't kill you, but I'll be pretty damn pissed."

Big crossed his shoulders and looked Chirps straight in the eye, intent on making things quite clear. "Word's my bond. Which you can't say about most people."

And as Chirps looked into Big's peepers, he knew he was telling the truth. "I believe you. Right then. Gerald Robotnik."

Big's long, tall ears shot right up like a warning sign, even if only for a moment. "You don't mean THAT Robotnik?"

"I think so. And I also know this isn't the first time he's come up."

"You mean back in the Green Hill Zone? When Eggman's flunkies were using his grandaddy's diary to try and kill a bunch of folks because they were sick in the head?"

"More or less. So if I tell everyone now, before I've got all the pieces together, I don't know what they're gonna think."

Big eased up a bit, his ears settling down and his gaze becoming ever more relaxed. "I understand. I don't agree with it, but I understand. Everything's got things they don't want anyone else to hear. And when you're ready to tell 'em, you know where to find me."

"Thanks. It's just, it's hard sometimes. Sometimes, it's like…"

Chirps looked downward at the ground below. The moon was out in force tonight, and it was strong enough that if one looked carefully, they could see…

"Shadow. A shadow. It's like a shadow. Creeping over everything. Making me wonder who I am, what I've done. I want to be sure of myself. To know that in spite of everything, I've lived my life the way I want. To know that I've got nothing to be ashamed of." He took another swig from the bottle, guzzling down as much as he could.

"But you know what the really damning thing is? There is something I remember. One thing as clear as day. At least up to a point. It was before all of this bullshit happened to me. Before I turned into whatever the hell I am. I was standing behind another guy. He was teetering right on the edge of a cliff, his arms in the air, practically begging for mercy. And I was standing right behind him. Holding a gun in my hand. And the last thing I remember is pulling the trigger."

Silence fell across the terrace. Not even the odd chirping of a cricket would so much as grace their presence. And it was only after Chirps and Big had wallowed in it that it was finally broken.

"Guess you've been through a lot."

"I guess. I just, I don't know. I don't know why I pulled the trigger. I don't know why I was standing there, who that man was, what the hell we were doing on a cliff, none of it. All I know is that I don't know. And that I was standing there with a gun in my hand. So if I ever find out the truth, then depending on what that truth is, I don't know what I'd with myself.

Big scratched his big furry head as if attempting to puzzle everything out as best he could. Until at last, he arrived at the answer. "Look. I can't claim to know everything there is to know about you. I can't say for sure what you should do, or whether or not you're an irredeemable son of a bitch. But what I do know is there's no point in worrying about what you shouldn't worry about."

Chirps was baffled. "Come again?"

"Think about it. Right here and now, what can you do? It's not like you can just call up Gaea or whoever else up and order them to sort everything out. Maybe someday, you'll finally get what you want, but right now, there's nothing you can do about it. So the only thing you can do is live. Best you can. And maybe grab a drink or two if you're really feeling down. That's what I do." And right on cue, Big took a hefty swig from his bottle, guzzling down every last drop he could. "That hits the spot."

Chirps couldn't help but chuckle. Even if only for a moment. "Maybe. Thanks. Which isn't something I say often."

"Don't mention it. Whenever I see someone drinking their brains out, I just can't help but help. If that makes any sense."

"You're a hell of a guy, you know that?"

"Yeeup. And proud of it."

"Funny. I mean it. Usually, I'm the guy making people crack up."

"Who says you gotta hoard all the jokes? I've got a sense of humour too, you know. Just don't get much of a chance to use it. That said, maybe you could stand to have less of one."

Chirps was taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"Look. I know what it's like to not want to let people in. To feel like you don't belong. Like you shouldn't belong. That's part of the reason why I've been travelling for as long as I have. Just never felt like I fit in. And it was only after doing that that I realized it's a two-way street. Fitting in isn't always something that happens. Sometimes, you gotta make the effort."

"Your point?"

"I'm gettin' there. Anyway, I also think that maybe there's a part of you that doesn't want to belong. That you feel you don't deserve to. And that all those bad jokes are your way of expressing that. Well, at least in part. No way all of that's just an act. It's just obvious."

Chirps looked Big straight in the eye. It was as though one wrong move would spell his doom. Not that it would, given that Big was the equivalent of a couple dozen ox, but that was the idea. "You really want to be going there?"

Big nodded matter of fact. "Yup. Anyway, all you're doing is just making people think you're an asshole so they don't want anything to do with you. Not to the point where they want to throw you under a truck, but you're not doing anyone any favours. So maybe you wanna cut it with some of the jokes and start showing them more of the REAL you. Like you're showin' me. And maybe then, you'll feel like you belong. If that's what you want."

Chirps continued to stare at Big. For his part, Big was calm as could be. As far as he was concerned, he had simply told the truth as he saw it, and there was nothing wrong with that. And as for Chirps?

"Gaea." Chirps couldn't help but be impressed. He chuckled just a touch, enough to show that if nothing else, he was amused. "Maybe you should've taken up a job as a counsellor. You ain't half-bad."

"Already taken. Not that I'd wanna be one anyway.

"Seriously though? Maybe you're right. Hell, you probably are. So what do I do about it?"

"Whatever you want to do about it. It's up to you. I'm just telling it like it is."

"Funny." Chirps tried to take another swig of his whiskey, but as he looked into the bottle and shook it up and down as much as he could, he couldn't find so much as a single drop. More was the pity. "Yeesh. Guess I should've stocked up when I had the chance."

"Hey, I've still got some on me if you're REALLY desperate."

"No thanks. Appreciate it though."

"No problem."

Big was about to take another swig before realizing that, in fact, he was out too. "Well. That's stupid."

"Now THAT'S a laugh."

"It is, ain't it?"

First there was a giggle. Then a chuckle. Then a more steady stream of guffaws before both parties were laughing up a storm. And all the both of them could think was that they could REALLY use another bottle of booze...


	35. Remembrance, Part 1

"Are we there yet? Cause I'm seriously tempted to blast a laser in someone's face out of boredom."

Shortfuse was wondering why he had bothered to come with everyone out into the boonies. Or as they called it, the Hilltop Zone. In practice, it was more of a mountain range, with blue and black checkered hills and cliffsides. Much like Green Hill, only somewhat moodier. The totems were nowhere to be seen, but there was the occasional seesaw. Though as for why they were there, they could only fathom. Though Sticks had a few ideas.

 _Oh Gaea, run! It's the SEESAWS OF THE DAMNED! All it takes is one turn on that seesaw and a bug-eyed alien from nowhere is gonna sit on the other end and stick his pointy nose thing into you and turn into a gorilla, a ZOMBIE GORILLA, and force you to do such unspeakable things as CLEANING THE TOILET! I have issues._

Shortfuse shuddered. Just the sheer act of remembering that bit of insanity made him wonder if he should have just dropped all pretences of normalcy and joined in on the fun. At least then he wouldn't be pinching the bridge of his nose every five minutes.

In any case, Sticks, Manic, Amy, and Tekno were all trudging up the mountain path with Johnny leading the way. Both Shortfuse and Tekno weren't allowed to fly due to apparently needing to stay incognito, and the only reason why he hadn't slapped someone was that they were probably right. Instead, they'd taken some souped-up motorcycles Rotor had built as far as they could into the zone. They weren't quite as zippy as being dragged around by Sonic or Mina, but it beat being tossed around like a Mobian sausage. Of course, once the terrain got rocky, there wasn't much they could do but step out under the bright fall sun and hoof it. And hoofing it they were.

"You do that," said Johnny to Shortfuse, "and I'll knock you down the nearest incline. Just so we understand each other."

"Touche."

"Oh, come on, Shortfuse!" said Amy. "This is kind of fun! Still, I just wish Sonic were here."

"Same here," said Manic, "but it's not like he can be there all the time."

"I know. Though even if he were here, I doubt he'd give me the time of day. Half the time, he just pretends like I don't exist!"

"Honestly, I cannot blame him." Tekno had since dispensed with the striped black and red sweater and was instead wearing a purple tanktop, though more out of practical reasons than anything else. Or at least that's what she kept telling herself. "You aren't exactly giving him room to breathe, are you?"

"Okay, so maybe I can be a bit pushy…"

"You stalked him right to the stalls," said Johhny. "In a cardboard box. And everyone could STILL tell it was you. That's going beyond pushy."

Amy threw her hands to the heavens as if the whole world was against her. Not that it was. And not that she cared. "FINE! I'm nuts about him! Gaga! Happy?!"

"I'm not happy," said Sticks. "And do you know why I'm not happy? Because being happy just makes you cannon fodder for the emotion eaters! They sneak in when you least suspect it, hiding behind every rock, every mountainside, every nook and cranny, and when your back is turned, WHAMMO! You're a goner! And they're no-good pinko-commies to boot! The only thing pinko-commies are good for is breakfast! And I already ate."

Shortfuse was this close to having a stroke. "Oy. Look, lady, can you knock it off with the paranoia bullcrap already?! I mean, no-one can be that delusional—"

"HOLD IT!" Sticks stopped dead in her tracks. She stood stiff as a board, her eyes fixating on a cliffside right in front of her, her eyes filled with sheer and utter hatred. "It's the emotion eaters," she whispered. "I'm onto you."

Shortfuse was not amused. "DID YOU HEAR A WORD I JUST SAID?!"

"Hey, cool it, Shortfuse," said Johnny. "She didn't do anything wrong. Even if she's nuttier than nutmeg."

"I RESEMBLE THAT REMARK!" said Sticks.

"YOU'LL RESEMBLE THE PAVEMENT WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU!" Shortfuse started to lift up his gauntlet, his laser readying to fire. Sticks for her part was ready to throw down at a moment's notice, but it wasn't to be. Johnny stopped dead in his tracks, raised one deft hand, and said in no uncertain terms, "We're here."

That was all he needed to say. Everyone's eyes turned toward Johnny, but by now, he was pointing towards the right. Right where his finger was aiming was a large tunnel. There was a faint glimmer of light at the end, but it was still going to be a long trip.

"This is the way to your village, I presume?" said Tekno.

"Yup," said Johnny. "If anyone knows anything about the vibrations, they'll know. With them and those doohickies you've got in your satchel, we should be able to sort this mess out and get out of dodge faster than we can say 'amscray.'"

"You don't seem particularly pleased to be here," said Tekno. "Forgive me for asking, but is there something we should know?"

Everyone's eyes were on Johnny. After all this time, the spotlight was finally on him. And he didn't care for it one bit. "You'll know when you know. If you know. It's not important."

Amy thought otherwise. "Johnny, if there's something you want to tell us…"

Johnny didn't even bother to look Amy in the eye. Or anyone else for that matter. Instead, he turned towards the tunnel and began walking into its' depths, as if he hadn't even heard her. Though Amy and everyone else knew he had. "We've got a job to do, people. Come on." And 'come' on they did.

They started making their way through the dark tunnels, with light being a scarce commodity. Johnny was about to shine a flashlight, but Manic had something else in mind. "Hold it, guys! I got this." He pulled a small green ring out of his satchel and slipped it on his middle finger. He concentrated, doing his best to form a single image; something tangible, something concrete. Until…

"BOOYAH! Beat that!"

…until a bright, shining, green light spontaneously popped into being from the aether. Naturally, everyone was impressed in one way or another.

"WOW!" said Amy.

"Nifty," said Johnny.

"As I predicted," said Tekno.

"What the hell is that?" said Shortfuse.

"EVERYONE!" said Sticks. "LOOK AWAY FROM THE LIGHT! LOOK AWAY FROM THE LIGHT! IT'S GONNA STEAL YOUR SOUL! AND THEN CHEW IT UP AND EAT IT FOR BREAKFAST! WITH SCONES AND TEA! LITERALLY!"

"Whoa there!" said Manic. "Relax, Sticks! It's okay! You see this ring? This one right here." Manic pointed toward the ring on his finger, shining as brightly as ever."

Sticks looked carefully at the ring like her life depended on it. "I don't believe it. You're married?!"

"Course not! I mean I can do this."

The ring on Manic's finger grew ever brighter, shining like a crazy diamond until it let out another flash of light and another ball of light formed near the tunnels' end."

"Oh. You're a soul-sucking light-bringing techno-mage? DOWN WITH THE SOUL-SUCKING LIGHT-BRINGING TECHNO MAGE!"

"Allow me," said Tekno, stepping it when no-one else would. "Do you see that ring, Sticks? That ring is quite unlike anything you've ever seen. Like Porker's gloves, it's based on Cream's energy signature, only once again modified to produce a different effect and you don't understand a word of what I'm saying do you?"

"Does it make hot tamales?"

Tekno shrugged her shoulders. "It can. Or create recreations thereof. Anything Manic can think of, it creates. Not that it doesn't have his limits, but for his purposes, it still does nicely."

"Oh! Still don't get it."

"Oh for the love of…" Shortfuse seemed about to blow a gasket. Literally. "Look. He thinks something up, he can make it. It's not hard to understand. Course, I'd be saying you're all off your rockers just over a month ago, so who am I to talk?"

Sticks stared into space crosseyed as though she were a complete doofus, but slowly but surely, the pieces came together, and it wasn't long before Sticks could finally say, "GOT IT! IT'S MAGIC! RUN FOR THE HILLS!"

Johnny was about to talk some sense into her when he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks. "We're here."

They all proceeded to walk out into the bright light which almost seemed to pierce their eyes like a flashlight as they came out of the tunnel. They found themselves in a large enclosure. Tall grass grew with wild abandon, and small wooden huts were scattered across the landscape. Non-Mobian sheeps and cows grazed the plains, and various workers tilled the fields and picked the crops with vim and vigour. And as Johnny grasped his pendant, he couldn't bear to look.

"You okay, Johnny?" said Amy.

"Gotta say," said Manic, "this place ain't half-bad. Still, give me the city any day. No offence."

"No kidding," said Shortfuse. I bet even Genocide City beats this dump."

Johnny snapped out of his stupor and whirled around to give Shortfuse the evil eye, as though his very honour had been insulted.

"Whoa, hey!" said Shortfuse. "Sorry! Didn't know what I saying. Won't say it again. If only so I don't have you looking like you want to strangle somebody."

"Hey, you sure you're okay?" said Manic. "I mean, that was a hell of a crack, but still."

"I"m fine," said Johnny. But as was clear by the trembling in his voice, he was anything but. "It's just, I haven't been here in years. Honestly, I don't really know what to think."

"Wowie!" said Sticks. "Now this is more my style! Wouldn't mind livin' here for a bit! That is if it weren't for all those evil mole-men lurking around every corner. Seriously, that's just rude!"

"You know, Sticks," said Amy, "I'm sorry, but I've got to ask. Just what in the world is up with the whole paranoia thing? Because, I hate to say it, but it's getting real old real fast."

"Hey, it's not paranoia if they're really out to get ya! And they are! I can't tell ya how many times they've tried to stick microscopic cameras up my arse…"

"That! That right there! Seriously, it's like you're compensating for something!"

"I'm not compensating for nothin'!" said Sticks. "I'm just telling it like it is!"

"Oh, come on! You can't seriously be telling me that's all there is to it!"

"Knock it off, Amy," said Johnny. "We—"

Right then, as if announcing its' presence from below, it happened. It was small at first. Just big enough to be noticed. Just enough of a vibration to shut everyone up. Then there was another. A bigger one. And an even bigger one. Each time the vibrations came, they were stronger and louder than the last, and even the farmers and workers had stopped their daily chores as they noticed what was unfolding around them.

"Stick together, people!" shouted Johnny. "Shortfuse, Tekno, get airborne! The rest of you—

But before anyone could do anything, the last and final one hit, and it was a doozy. Everyone was thrown flying off their feet and to the four winds like being tossed in a frying pan. Shortfuse and Tekno managed to get themselves airborne, while everyone else had had enough training to protect themselves as best they could.

But the farmers weren't so lucky. All across the fields, they had been tossed to and fro like ragdolls, and while most didn't have anything serious, others had major concussions, or perhaps the odd fractured rib. And that wasn't the worst of it. As the vibrations raged on, cracks started to rip open in the ground as it began to shift and turn, and it stopped just as a sliver of steam had started to pour forth.

Johnny, Amy, Manic, and Sticks were all lying on the ground like playthings but were able to pick themselves up and get back on their feet before long. "Good Gaea!" said Amy. "What in the world was that?!"

"Probably the vibrations we heard about," said Manic. "I didn't think they were THIS bad."

"Indeed," said Tekno, fluttering down from the sky and landing exactly where she had stood before the vibrations. Shortfuse landed right beside her. "It's obvious that things are worse than we hoped. It doesn't exactly bode well, does it?"

"Maybe not," said Johnny. "But we still need to try."

Just then, an older rabbit started to hop over from the field and through the long grass and wheat fields towards Johnny and the others. He wore a straw farmers' hat and a pair of tattered blue overalls, but that was it. And as he grew ever closer, Johnny started to wince as though a sharp thorn had just been stuck up his rear end.

"You know him, Johnny?" said Amy.

Johnny didn't say a word, but from how he couldn't afford to keep his eyes off of him, it was clear that he did. The rabbit in the overalls grew closer and closer, and before long, it was standing right in front of Johnny.

"So," said the rabbit. "Johnny. You're back."

"Uncle Clarence. Nice to see you." Though from the way Johnny said it, it was clear it wasn't nice at all.

"Likewise." And it was the same with Clarence. The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. "I see you've got some friends with ya. Including a rather strange fella in the armour there. So. What brings you to our neck of the woods?"

This is gonna take a while. You got somewhere we can talk?"

"Follow me." And as Clarence hopped on back to the houses, stopping every now and then to make sure Johnny and the others were following his trail, it was clear that he'd rather be anywhere else. And Johnny would more than agree.

* * *

"That's quite a story."

Clarence and Johnny were sitting across from each other in a small hut along the walls of the enclosure. It wasn't a particularly glamorous abode, but it still had a personal touch. It was filled with portraits, baubles, and even the odd piece of jewellery, which a farmer like Clarence would have had to pay a pretty penny for. Both Johnny and Clarence were seated in two hand-crafted wooden chairs in the middle of the living room, though even as Johnny tried to get things rolling, they both knew that this wasn't going to be pleasant. Everyone else was either standing about or sitting in any other chairs that happened to be around, watching the two with most vested interest.

"It is, ain't it?" said Johnny. "Either way, it's the truth. Sooner or later, Eggman's gonna be waging war on the whole island. Only reason he hasn't so far is cause he's waiting till everything's the way he wants it, which won't be long. That, and we've set him back a bit."

"So you say. So what, you're like some resistance or something?"

"Something like that. Someone needs to do it. And I guess I'm one of those someones."

"Funny. Never figured you were one for taking responsibility. Must be something you've picked up."

Johnny and Clarence glared at each other as though a gunfight were going to break out any moment. Which Amy, being perceptive as she was, desperately didn't want to happen. She knew she shouldn't have stepped in unless absolutely necessary, but as far as she was concerned, this was as necessary as all get-out. "Uh, maybe it'd be a good idea to talk about something else for a minute? Just a thought."

"Maybe," said Clarence. "Look. I'll buy your story for now, if only because I don't know what else to do. Every so often, there's some large vibration or some such, and the more it's popped up, the closer it's gotten to what we consider to be dangerous levels."

"I could imagine," said Tekno. "This Zone is home to the occasional pit of lava, is it not?"

"Yeeup. Can't tell how those things popped up, short of a volcano or something, but they're there. They're scattered all across the upper Hilltop Zone, and while they're usually harmless to anyone with a brain, if we got a big enough tremor…"

"Then lava could spill over from a close enough pit — or series of pits — to destroy everything in its' path," said Tekno.

Sticks gasped as though she were struggling for air, not that it lasted long. "It's gotta be the work of the troglodytes! They live underground, making troglodyte weapons out of troglodyte metal and doing troglodyte shannigans, all for the sake of world destruction! And they also just tunnel underground and cause earthquakes and stuff whenever they feel like it. Or whenever they're trying to make new buildings and things. No joke."

"Are you sure she's alright?" said Clarence to Johnny. "She hasn't hit her head or anything, has she?"

"Well," said Sticks, "I have, but I honestly don't think that's either here or there. SOGGIES MAY RULE!"

Everyone looked at Sticks as though she had something of a screw loose. Not that it stopped Johnny and Clarence from getting to business. "So," said Johnny. "First order of things is to figure out where those vibrations are coming from and then get ourselves over there to stop 'em. Manic, think you can handle that last part?"

Manic's ring briefly lit up like a lantern, as if to give the obvious answer. "Sure can. Or at least I think I can. I've still got my limits, but I should be able to whip up something."

"Good. And as for the first part…" Johnny looked at Tekno. Pulling out a device from her satchel, she already seemed to be working her magic.

"Already on it," she said. "This device should help us locate the source of the vibrations. I already turned it on prior to arriving just in case, so I've already collected some adequate data from the last occurrence. Unfortunately, it's not perfect. I still need to get close enough to it to accurately pinpoint it. And we also need to make sure that we won't be digging over an underground lava pit. Still, we should be able to find it given time."

Shortfuse revved up his arm, as if all of this sitting around was starting to make him restless. "Yeah, well, time ain't something we've got. Something like this could happen again whenever we'd least expect it. And if it does, we'll all be sitting ducks. Whatever we do, we've got to do it quick."

"Agreed," said Johnny. "Though I think I've got an idea of where to start searchin'. Though it's the last place I'd rather look."

Sticks started to move away from the others towards the door, as though something else were on her mind. "Yeah, well, have fun with that. Me, I've got somethin' else to do."

"Hold on a minute!" said Amy. "Don't tell me you're just gonna walk out on us?!"

"She's not a Freedom Fighter, Amy," said Johnny. "She can do what she wants. Though seeing as an entire village is on the line, I would've thought she'd be a bit more considerate."

"Hey, I'm not a totally heartless bastard," said Sticks. "At least not after I ripped one out of that 'gater. I'll be there, don't worry. But this is somethin' I gotta do. If there's anything here about my folks, I gotta know!"

"Hey," said Shortfuse, "if she wants to go do her own thing, let her do it. Saves us the trouble of having to put up with her."

Manic got up and started to walk over towards Sticks. "Honestly, I don't think we should be too hard on her. I didn't know my dad for the longest time. I mean, I think he's a dirty rotten deadbeat, but he's still my dad. So if I had the chance to know more about him, maybe even find him, I would've taken it. I'll look after Sticks. Second we find anything or we take too long, I'll fly us over to where you guys are. Shouldn't be too hard to spot up there."

"Fine," said Johnny. "Just don't take too long. If and when we find out whoever's doing this and why, we'll need all the help we can get."

"Got it,' said Manic. "So, you wanna start asking around, Sticks?"

At hearing Stick's name, Clarence's ears suddenly shot up as if remembering a forgotten name from long ago. "'Sticks'? I remember. Sticks. Is it… no! You can't be…"

Like a ruffian, Sticks lifted Clarence up by the shirt, her teeth gritting as she hoisted him into the air. Short she may have been, but lightweight she was not. "Do you know somethin' about my parents?! Spill it! Before I sic the troglodytes on ya!"

"STICKS!" yelled Johnny. Everyone quickly had their weapons at the ready and were all that close to whipping them out. "Put him down!"

Clarence for his part didn't seem to be afraid. Not to say he wasn't nervous if his heavy breathing wasn't an indication. "Don't worry, Johnny. Sticks, is it? Look, if you'll just put me down, I'll tell you what you want to know! But I don't think you'll like it..."


	36. Remembrance, Part 2

"Man, this place is a dump. No offence."

Manic and Sticks were standing in the doorway of a run down little shack at the edge of the enclosure. It was worn, frayed, and practically falling apart. The last vibration had already knocked a few boards loose. One more and it was sure to collapse like a house of straw.

Sticks was too lost in thought to take heed of Manic's accidental crack. She was slowly stumbling through the doorway entranced, as living in another time. As though she were glueing together an old photograph, it was all coming back to her. "I remember this place…"

There was an old abandoned stove in the dusty kitchen and various pots and pans to go with it, and as Sticks touched them, she could remember every one. Of how she'd put them on her head and pretend she was some of pot-monster monstrosity. And her parents couldn't help but laugh.

She turned towards the living room. Small as it was, that room held a special place in Stick's heart. She darted over, stopping only to drink it all in. Like everything else, it had lost its'lustre over the years, but Sticks could still see the bright red rug in the middle of the room, or the stack of books she'd always used to play her own personal game of Jenga.

And then there was the couch. That couch in the back where they would all sit together. Where her father would tell her such wild stories of his youth, and where her mother… her mother…

"Mom." A single tear flowed down Stick's cheek as though a trickle had managed to make its' way past the damn. A damn that was steadily beginning to flood.

"You okay, Sticks?"

Sticks barely heard him. "I remember now. Some of it anyway. My parents were taking me on a trip in the woods. We wanted to see my Uncle, and my dad was a hunter on the side. Far as he was concerned, he could handle anything. But then…"

Sticks almost couldn't take it. She backed away towards the nearest corner and almost retreated into a fetal position. She started to hyperventilate, her heart pounding like a hammer.

"Whoa, Sticks!" Manic rushed over to Sticks, desperate to make sure she was alright. "Calm down, calm down! Come on now! That's it! Deep breaths. Come on. Easy does it…"

With some help from Manic, Sticks managed to ease up and calm herself down. She was still ever so slightly frightened and nervous, but she was no longer hyperventilating and she was able to stand up straight. At the very least, she could manage.

"Thanks, Manic. Which ain't something I say often."

"Gee, thanks." The sarcasm in Manic's voice was dripping like honey.

Regardless, it was time. Time to hold nothing back. "I remember. Me and my parents ran into a pack of mangy mutts. Non-Mobian wolves to be specific. And they didn't look happy. Dad tried to hold them off, but it wasn't good enough."

"Oh, Gaea. I'm so sorry, Sticks. I had some problems with my parents, but still. Losing mom was something else. And, well, I hate my Dad's guts, but if I ever lost him too—"

Stick's steely eyes cut Manic to the quick. "Who said anything about losing my dad?"

Manic swore he had to rub his eyes more than once. "Come again?"

"Look. I don't remember much, but I remember this. Dad? Dad ran. Like a dog. He up and ran after my mom… my mom…" Sticks took another deep breath. She did her best to remember, to bring it all rushing forth. And at long last, as she collapsed to her knees she did. And her tears did the same.

"Mom… Mom was… the wolves… there was nothin' I could do. I was only six. They… they…"

Manic closed his eyes and grabbed Sticks around the shoulder, giving her the biggest and perhaps only hug of her life. And the tears kept coming. "I'm sorry, Sticks. I know what it's like to lose someone. Even if they treat you like scum, it still hurts."

Sticks shoved Manic away, but did so gently, as if giving him a light push. "Sorry! Sorry. I just, just don't wanna be touched right now, 'kay? Or like, ever. Got a serious thing about being' touched. 'Cause you might have the bad touch. And Sticks don't want the bad touch. Sorry."

As perplexed and baffled by that most recent scenario as Manic was, he still knew the best thing to do was just respect her wishes and move on. "So. Your dad. What about him?"

The tears stopped. She wiped away the remaining ones and slowly rose up like a machine of war, her sadness giving way to righteous anger. "Dad. Dad. DAD!" She seized the nearest portrait of him and began tearing it like a mad dog, with nothing but murder in her eyes.

"Whoa, Sticks! Hold on, girl!" Manic tried to tug the portrait away from her, but it was no good. Sticks may not have been a heavy hitter, but she was still stronger than most. If he didn't use the ring, she could beat him with her hands tied behind her back. So it was no surprise that he wound up with his ass kissing the floor. "On second thought, I guess it's technically edible…"

Just then, the door to the shack creaked open. Sticks stopped in her tracks. She could smell the heretic as soon as he touched it. She raced right over like a wild beast. Within seconds, Clarence Litefoot was in her literal clutches once more. Deja vu.

"Whoah, Sticks!" said Manic. "Put him down, okay?! There's no reason to—"

Sticks wasn't listening. "I've got just one question for you," she said to Clarence, "and you'd better answer it before I put you in a grinder and turn your nose into cheese-wizz! Why the hell did you and everyone else keep this place standing? After what he did?!"

"After what who did?" said Manic. "Wait, you mean your father?"

"He turned and ran! I saw it! Second my mom kicked it, instead of trying to save me, he threw down his gun and hightailed it out of dodge! And he couldn't save mom either! SO WHY IS THAT NO GOOD DEADBEAT'S HOUSE STILL HERE?!"

"We didn't know!" said Clarence. "Least not at first. When he came back to the village, he said that you and your mom had gotten lost after getting chased by a wolf pack. And when he found you, there was nothin' we could do. We only learned the truth after all that. It was during the Great Gaea Gathering. It's something we hold every year to celebrate the harvest. As for your Dad, long story short, he got a hell of a lot more plastered than usual and he… told us some things. Things which none of us was too happy about. We ran him out of town not long after that. Not sure where he is now. But since then, we've been so busy with the crops and everything else that this place has been the last thing on our minds. And I really am sorry about that."

Sticks looked at Clarence for the longest time before plopping him down to the ground, which he was somewhat grateful for. ('Not the best landing, but it'll do.')

"Where's he now? Where'd that dirty rotten guacamole-for-brains run off to after you chucked him out like stinky, smelly garbage?"

"Don't know. After all, we was pretty drunk ourselves. Still, he's probably on the island somewhere. Either that or one of the outlying islands. But what you do with him is your business."

"Oh, I've got a lot of things to do with him, let me tell ya!"

Manic held up a hand as if to say that perhaps she should back off a bit before going too gung-ho. "Hold on there. Look, maybe he did turn and run, but maybe there's an explanation for it."

"What 'explanation' could he have for ditching me like tossing away a plastic wrapper?!"

"I didn't say it'd be a good explanation, but he's still your father. You should at least hear him out. And I just realized that makes me a damn hypocrite. Gaea, do I hate myself sometimes."

Clarence slowly got off the ground, dusting himself off as though he couldn't stand the thought of being touched. "Look, I can't say I really know how you're feeling or how you should handle it, but I can say that, regardless of what you do, he's still family. And family ain't that easy to get rid of. Even if you want to be rid of it." As Clarence went on, his voice started to become filled with regret and loathing, as though he was saying more than he was letting on. "Take it from me."

Sticks wasn't quite sure what to think, but Manic had an inkling. "You talking about Johnny?"

"Let's just say he ain't as innocent as you think."

* * *

"We there yet?"

Shortfuse was starting to get pissed. More than he had been already. He and the others had been walking along the mountain range for what seemed like forever. In truth, it had only been thirty minutes, but Shortfuse couldn't care less. Amy was skipping along without a care in the world while Tekno was holding out that device of hers. With any luck, it would get them where they'd want to go in a timely fashion. If it didn't, then he might have to bust some heads.

Johnny for his part was doing his best to guide the others around the mountain range while taking heed of Tekno's readings, taking them up and around as they made their way up the path. Though it seemed like he had more on his mind than just the vibrations.

"Shouldn't be too long now," said Johnny. By this point, if they looked to the left, they could see a sea of tall, thick trees below, with more and more trees coming into view the higher up they went. "Just gotta hold on a little longer."

"Eh, it's okay!" said Amy. "Gotta get my exercise in somehow!"

"Uh-huh," said Shortfuse. "Me, I don't even need exercise. Not in this hunk of metal. But I still don't like having to wait."

"Patience," said Tekno. "With any luck, we should be arriving at our destination any minute now, or at least close to it."

"Is that it?" Amy had sprinted ahead of the others and was pointing towards something down below. Something hot, very large, very bright, and very dangerous. Shortfuse rocketed towards it while Tekno fluttered. Johnny almost couldn't bring himself to get near it. He didn't even have to see it. By the time he managed to drag himself over there, he already knew what it was.

"Wow!" said Amy. "Talk about a lava pit!" Indeed, a lava pit was what it was, and a huge one at that. Bubbles of molten magma boiled at the surface, and it was warm enough that even Shortfuse with his built-in cooling was starting to sweat.

"Yeesh," he said. "Talk about hot under the collar. This is gettin' warm even for me!"

For her part, Tekno was glad she still wasn't wearing that sweater. She took another look at her device and then did a slow scan of her surroundings as if attempting to see something that couldn't be seen. "By my calculations, we should be almost near the source of the vibrations. In fact, it's almost as if we are on top them."

"Hey, maybe we are!" said Amy. "What if they're underground somehow? It wouldn't be the craziest thing we've seen. What do you think, Johnny? Johnny?"

By the time Amy turned towards Johnny, he was kneeling on the ground and slumped over like a doll. His eyes were blank as if his soul had been ripped straight out of him, and he couldn't help but stare at the pit as though remembering something that couldn't be forgotten. As though he just couldn't let go. In some ways, it was almost like he was dead inside.

"Johnny? What's wrong? You okay?"

"Maybe he had a stone," said Shortfuse.

"Unlikely," said Tekno, her gaze becoming narrow and hard. "I believe this is something that runs that much deeper. It could possibly be PTSD."

Amy could scarcely believe it. "You can't be serious."

"Hate to say it," said Shortfuse, "but I think she's right. I couldn't care less about him, but I didn't think he'd go down like this."

"He hasn't." Johnny slowly rose from the ground, nearly stumbling as he did so. It was as if hearing that he was down for the count was enough to snap him out of his funk and spur him back into action. Even if he was still somewhat worse for wear.

"Thank Gaea. Are you okay, Johnny."

Johnny looked again at the lava pit. He gazed at it as if there were something there only he could see. Something precious. Something he'd rather forget. And he couldn't forget. Not really. "No. No, I'm not. Then again, I guess haven't really been okay for seven years or so now."

"Johnny," said Tekno, "I do not wish to pry, but if there is something we should know about…"

"Yeah," said Johnny. "Maybe there is. Maybe it's time to finally let it all come out."

"What the hell are you yappin' on about?" said Shortfuse.

Johnny didn't listen. Or if he did, he wasn't letting on. "It happened seven years ago. Almost feels like yesterday. Almost wish it was. I can still remember it. When the sun was shining bright like fire in the sky, and it seemed like we could do nothin' wrong. That nothin' bad would ever happen to either of us. We couldn't have been more wrong."

* * *

 _ **SEVEN YEARS AGO**_

"Got you, Johnny!"

"No, you didn't! I'm still hiding behind this rock!" Johnny and a little girl in a red and yellow dress were each sidled behind two large slabs of rock in the middle of the mountain range. Their arms were stretched out like they were holding bows and arrows, and they had been pretending to shoot each other again and again until someone finally 'kicked it.' Knights and Thieves, they called it.

"I still got you! Ricochet and angles for the win!"

Johnny could scarcely believe it. Had he been bested that easily? And by a girl no less? "Oh, come on! Arrows don't even work like that!"

"Come on, Johnny, just admit you lost! Then we can go home and have some of Mommy's carrot cake! Don't be such a baby!"

"You're the baby!" Johnny stayed hidden behind the rock, or at least as much as he could. He wasn't going to just give in. Not that easily. Or so he thought.

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are! You're still only six years old, I'm ten. So you're the baby!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"AM NOT!"

"ARE TOO!"

"That does it!" She threw her hand as if lobbing something forward, something only she could see. "I just threw a grenade! And it landed on your side! So you're gonna blow up!"

"Yeah, well, I've got a… a double-super-mega rocket launcher!" Johnny motioned with his hands, acknowledging the existence of such a thing. "So you'd better say I win!"

Silence.

"Lily? You still there? Lily?" Johnny started to wonder. It was possible that he had merely been too impatient, but if something had happened to Lily, he wasn't sure what he'd do. He peeked his head out from his rock desperate to know if she was okay when the unthinkable happened.

Just when he began to wonder where she had gone, Lily lept out from behind her slab and started plugging imaginary arrow after imaginary arrow into Johnny, who in turn was flailing back and forth as though he really was being skewered. He slammed to the ground like a giant meat bag (or at least as much as he could considering how hard the ground could be on the range,) and began to do his best impression of a corpse. Or at least make the attempt.

"Got you!" shouted Lily. "Let's play again! Again, again!"

Johnny slowly picked himself off the ground and chuckled as if he wanted to do the same, but reality was a harsh mistress. "We can't play now. Sun's coming down!" Just as Johnny said, the bright autumn sun was starting to settle down in the sky above, and at that time of the year, the days were growing ever colder and the night ever longer. Not the best time of year for little kids to be out and about. Not that Lily cared.

"Oh, come on! Pretty please? We still haven't played near that giant lava pit yet!"

Johnny started to tense up, as though his arms had suddenly become stiff. He knew about the giant lava pit. Who didn't? Particularly, he knew that his parents had ordered him to stay away from the pit and all others like it. And more importantly, to make sure his little sister didn't step foot near it. He still didn't grasp the full ramifications of all of this, but he knew better than to disobey his parents. For his parents' word was law.

Lily began to pout like a small child, which to be fair was what she was. Her face brightened and her mouth puffed up like a puffer fish, and she began to sulk as though the greatest pleasure on Earth had been denied her. "Dagnabbit! I really wanted to see that lava pit."

"Look, Lily, we'll play again tomorrow, alright? We can even play 'Knights and Thieves in a Lava Pit' if you want to."

Lily was curious. "Is that a real game?"

"It is now."

Lily almost began to look pleased as though her wish had been granted. But then, as if the wool over her eyes was being lifted, she saw the reality of the situation. "You just made it up!"

"No, I didn't! Honest!"

"Liar!" Lily continued to pout, and yet Johnny could tell it was getting less and less genuine by the second if that occasional slight chuckle coming out of her was any indication.

"Well, maybe I did. And in that case, I've got a new game."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Race you back home!"

"You're on!" And so they ran. They ran and hopped over the mountain path and the fields and past the seesaws with wild abandon, everything blurring together until all that was left was the race.

But Johnny wasn't the fastest thing alive or close to it. By the time he was halfway home, he found himself starting to gasp and wheeze as though all his breath had left him. "Sorry, sis! Give me a minute here…"

Johnny had half expected to hear Lily giggling or pouting, or perhaps running past him and leaving him in the dust like the little imp she was. And yet, for one reason or another, he couldn't hear a thing. Not Lily, not her footsteps, not anything. "Lily?"

He stood up straight and turned around. Lily was nowhere to be seen. His thoughts started to race even quicker than they had been, but his mother had always told him that being panicked only resulted in getting your knickers in a twist, whatever that meant. He then remembered something his father had taught him. For the last year, he'd been starting to teach him bit by bit about the fine art of tracking. And that's when he remembered what he said about footprints.

He looked down, and… there wasn't a single thing. Not so much as a faded toe. His thoughts started to race again, but he did his best to keep himself steady. If he wanted to find his sister, that's what he'd have to do. He retraced his steps, running back the way he came and focusing on his own footprints until, at last, he finally found his sisters'. They had been going right alongside his to a point or close to it, but partway down the path, they'd made a sharp turn to the right.

Whether or not Lily had turned straight away or stopped for a moment before deciding to change course was unknown to Johnny. All he knew was that he had gotten so caught up in the race that he had completely forgotten about her. And as he looked at the footprints, his fur began to raise almost like goosebumps. Because he knew exactly where she was headed.

"Gaea."

Johnny hopped along like a jackrabbit and followed the footprints as best he could. As he did so, the air became warmer and more stagnant, and he could smell the scent of fire and brimstone ahead. And he hoped against all the odds that she hadn't gone where he knew she'd gone.

It wasn't long before he made it. He could see the bright red light emitting from it; could feel the sheer, blazing heat. But above all, he could see her. Lily. She was standing right at the edge of the pit with a look of innocence and sheer glee upon her face, as though she could not in any way comprehend the absolute horror that awaited her if she made so much as a single tip-toe forward.

"Lily!" Johnny called out to her. He thought that if he called out to her now, he might be able to convince her to turn away. To call her back before the inevitable happened. At the time, it seemed the sane, sensible thing to do.

Only it wasn't.

Like a whirlwind, Lily turned to face Johnny, almost in shock that he was there. This was a mistake. She had moved so quickly and was so close to the edge that, before she knew it, her good foot was suddenly up in the air and her arms were flailing about like a monkey, doing her best to keep herself from falling into the lava below. She screamed as though death itself was upon her, trying her best to keep herself from going over. "Johnny!"

"Lily!" He rushed over to her. If he could just reach her, if he could just take her hand, if he could just do something—

"JOHNNY!"

Too late. Just as Johnny made it over, the frayed ground underneath Lily's heel collapsed. "LILY!" Johnny kneeled down in a flash, trying desperately to grasp her, to reach out to her, but it just wasn't enough.

"JOHNNY!"

"LILY!"

* * *

 _ **NOW**_

"Good Gaea."

Amy stood there several feet away from the precipice of the pit, not sure what to think. Neither was Shortfuse or Tekno. All they knew was that the rabbit standing before them was looking down at the lave-pit as though he'd seen a ghost. But as the tears started to flow down below like a drizzle, they knew he was telling the truth. And they didn't know what to do.

"Not much to say after that," said Johnny. His voice had become tired and husky as if it had taken nearly everything he had to get the words out. "My mother tried to understand. Key word being 'try.' Father was a lot less forgiving. He blamed me for not being able to save her. Called me a bane on existence. A disgrace to the family. And for a long while, Clarence thought the same way. Can't say I blame 'em."

Still nothing. None of them knew quite what to say. Not at first. Even Johnny wasn't quite sure where to go from there.

"Sometimes I wonder. Wonder if I paid just a bit more attention. If I were a bit more protective of her. You know why I started that race in the first place? It was to try to get her to just follow me back home. That was it. And I got lost in the whole darn thing. Forgot why I was even doin' it to begin with. If I was a bit more careful, a bit more responsible—!"

Like a splash of cold water, Johnny felt something else that was cold; a slap of cold hard metal from a cold hard metal gauntlet belonging to a cold hard metal-coated squirrel landing right on his face.

"SHORTFUSE!" yelled Tekno.

"Hey, what did you do that for?!" cried Amy.

"Shut the hell up!" said Shortfuse, though rather than aiming it at Tekno or Amy, he was instead hollering straight at Johnny. "Look. Shit happens. Sometimes some things happen that, maybe if you'd done something else, something different, you could've done something about it. And maybe you should've. Maybe you should've been more careful, more protective, whatever. But you know what else? YOU WERE DUMB LITTLE PUNKS! Only dumb little punks would go looking straight over a damn lava pit, and only dumb little punks would lose track of their sister when there's a damn lava pit in walking distance!"

"Shortfuse!" yelled Tekno. For his part, Shortfuse couldn't care less.

"I ain't done! But you know what? You WERE dumb little punks. And when you're a dumb little punk, you do things that only dumb little punks do. And there's nothing you can do about it. So rather than beat yourself up over it, maybe you should just accept it happened and move on. Or are you gonna let one bad day make you as crazy as everybody else?"

Johnny had been rubbing his jaw, the sheer pain still ringing in his ear, but that hadn't stopped him from listening to every single word Shortfuse said. And with one hard look from his now steely eyes, all Johnny could say was, "Are you?"

Shortfuse had been cut to the quick. Tensions were starting to rise, to the point where even if there wasn't a giant lava pit nearby you could still swear you were beginning to sweat. Tekno was looking at the both of them with a keen gaze. Amy had her laser-crossbow at the ready, just in case things went south.

"Whatever." Shortfuse shot Johnny an evil eye or rather attempted to before he stomped away. With that potential crisis averted, Amy felt it was finally time to step in. Before, she wasn't quite sure what to make all of this, but if nothing else, Shortfuse had put things in perspective.

"Look, Johnny," she said. "I can't say I know what you've been going through but, well, Shortfuse is right. You were kids. Maybe you could've something else but, hard as it is to say, things happen."

"I know," said Johnny. "Still though. I saw her falling into that hellhole right in front of me. I saw her body burn, melting away, and there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it! So the only thing I can do is make sure nothin' like that happens to anyone else."

This piqued Tekno's interest. She coolly walked forward, feeling that she at last had something relevant to say on the matter. "Excuse me, but are you implying that you can somehow right every wrong? That you can prevent anything bad from happening to anyone ever?"

"Of course not! But I gotta do somethin'. It's all I can do. And if that means doin' what I can, so be it."

Before anyone could pursue this matter further, something began to move under their feet. It was small at first. Nothing more than a minor sensation. But it quickly grew. And grew. And grew until the earth began to tremble with great sound and fury signifying anything but nothing.

"WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON?!" yelled Shortfuse.

Tekno whipped out her device and quickly checked the readings. "Oh dear. The goods news is that I am now %99.9 sure where the vibrations are coming from! The bad news is that this one is, well…"

"Out with it!" said Johnny.

"…well, on the one hand, this particular vibration stands a fair chance of lasting quite a bit longer than the last one and will be manageable enough for some time. However, once it finally goes full blast…"

"Then all hell will break loose." And in that moment, Johnny was fairly certain that moaning about the past was the last thing that should've been on his mind.


	37. Remembrance, Part 3

"Hey, just a thought, but we might want to do something about this sooner than later. Just putting it out there."

Shortfuse was trying to get the ball rolling as the vibrations continued to make their presence known. It stayed at the same level it had been and, if their luck held out, would continue to do so for some time yet, but lady luck was always a fickle mistress.

"Maybe we should've tried to evacuate everyone first," said Amy. "Actually, there still might be time to get everyone out. Maybe if we send Shortfuse over, have him talk with Manic—"

"I appreciate the thought," said Tekno, "but according to my calculations, if this vibration continues, there will be no place to hide in the entire northwestern section of the Acorn Kingdom. Shortfuse and Manic may be able to save a few villagers, but by the time they return for more, it will be too late for any of them. It is of my opinion that the only way to ensure their safety is to stop the vibrations in their tracks. Doing anything else only takes precious time and effort away from where our true focus should be."

"We can't just sit back and do nothing!"

"That's enough!" Johnny thumped his weapon on the ground. It made a deafening and very dense sound that ensured everyone was paying attention, like banging a very heavy gavel. "Look. We could talk about this till the cows get home, but there might not be a lot of cows left if we don't start getting our act together. The both of you are right. Our priority needs to be stopping the vibrations, but we can't take the risk that we won't be able to do that in time. There's got to be somethin' we can do."

Suddenly, Tekno slapped her forehead out of nowhere, as though lightning just struck her brain. "Tekno, you are an imbecile! Why didn't I think of this sooner?"

"You mean think of how you can stand around even longer and get us all killed?" said Shortfuse. "I'm pretty sure you could find a way!"

"Manic still has that ring, doesn't he? Of course, I might have been able to do something as well, but this is much more efficient!"

"What are you getting at, Tek'?" said Johnny.

"Don't you see? Manic's ring lets him create virtually anything he imagines! Within reason of course, but still. So if he could create some sort of rudimentary aircraft…"

Johnny pounded his fist on top of an open palm, as though all the synapses in his brain had finally started firing on all cylinders. "We can get them all to safety in one go!"

"Of course, this will be Manic's first time attempting something this complex, nevermind carrying who knows how many people. But it is better than doing nothing."

"Agreed," said Johnny. "Shortfuse, see if you can fly back over towards town and locate Manic. Maybe—"

"Looking for somebody?"

Soaring overhead surrounded by a green light was none other than Manic. His ring was glowing bright as an emerald, and Sticks was hovering along in tow. "I don't believe it! It's the reckoning! 'He shall appear in a green light and have amorous relationships with a giant marshmallow blowup doll'—"

"That's a porn flick, you sicko!"

"Oh! My bad! Maybe I was thinking more about the giant green kangaroo and the sex toy—"

"Sticks? For the love of God, please. Shut. UP!"

"YOU AND WHAT ARMY?! BRING IT ON, YOU CORPORATE MONEY-GRUBBING HELLSPAWN!"

"ENOUGH!" yelled Johnny. "You two, knock it off! Don't make me come over there!"

Knock it off they did. Being adequately intimidated like a couple of children, they promptly got themselves together and started acting like sane, responsible Mobians. Or at least as much as they could. Manic brought them down to the ground, though he didn't fail to notice the lave pit starting to bubble. Or the vibrations when he and Sticks finally reached the surface.

"Oh, that can't be good!"

"Course it isn't good!" said Sticks. "It's like I told you, it's the darn troglodytes! Always getting their filthy, grubby mitts up on everything! And I literally mean 'mitts!' It's the only piece of clothing they've got! You don't want to see them when—"

"Hey, TMI!" said Amy. "Time and a place!"

"Agreed," said Johnny. "Now look, Manic. We need to evacuate the village. And as far as we can see, you're the best person to be doin' that."

Manic wasn't quite sure what Johnny was getting at first, but as soon as Johnny lowered his eyes at Manic's ring, he knew what was up. "Oh! Got it. Well, maybe. I think I might be able to whip up something, but I still haven't used this thing all that often. Still, we can't just leave them there, can we?"

"Not while we've got a shot at saving them," said Johnny. "And we do. Or at least you do. Now, do you think you can get a move on?"

"Will do!" Manic was about to head off when suddenly, something seemed to click in his brain like a light switch. Or rather a flash drive having its' memory restored. "Oh, yeah. Uh, I hate to say it, but Clarence told us about, well, you know…" He gestured towards the lava pit as what he had been about to say need not have been said. And Johnny couldn't agree more.

"Yeah. I'll bet he did."

"Look, I know we're short on time and this probably isn't gonna fix anything, but I really am sorry, Johnny. No-one should have to lose someone they're close to. Or at least want to be close to. Trust me here."

"I do. And I appreciate it. But I've gotta handle this in my own way. Just trust me on this."

Manic almost wanted to say something, anything more, but it was evident from the way Johnny was glaring at him smackdab in the face that he didn't want Manic to say so much as an iota. Other than the obvious. "Okay. But if you ever want to talk, you know where to find me."

Johnny didn't say a word.

"Right. Be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, I've got some folks to evacuate. Here's hoping they'll let me." Manic then surrounded himself in that green light once more and soared into the air, leaving a wide-eyed Sticks to watch in mystified wonder.

"Woza. That was a green mean jellybean of the lost world! Taking off and bright green without a second thought! IT MUST BE THE RAPTURE."

Johhny started to wonder if taking along Sticks hadn't been a Bad Idea. (TM) "In any case, we need to get over to wherever or whatever those vibrations are coming from. The pits are gonna get more active and the terrain's never easy climbing, but we'll just have to deal. Tekno, care to lead the way?"

"If you insist." Tekno took to the air, her wings flapping in the wind like a glorious ringed cape. Her device was hanging from her neck by a strap that had been woven into it. She looked into the distance. No-one else would have been able to spot it, but with a literal bird's eye view, she was able to see it. "I think I've found it! It should not take us long to get ourselves over there."

"Sounds good," said Johnny.

"What isn't good is that it may be something of a hike, as I mentioned."

"Not a problem," said Johnny. "If things really get tough, Shortfuse can carry us the rest of the way."

"HEY!" yelled Shortfuse. "I resemble that remark!"

"I'm sure you do. Now, everyone follow Uncle Johnny, because otherwise, let's just say things are gonna heat up REAL quick. Savvy?"

* * *

"I believe we have made it."

Tekno landed at the foot of the cliffside. At first glance, it didn't seem like much. In fact, one might believe there wasn't anything there at all aside from the sleek blue and black rocks and the roaring, crashing waves. But if one were attentive, they would see there was more to it then that.

"Come on!" said Shortfuse. "You don't mean to tell me it's literally over a frigging cliff?"

"Hey, it may well be," said Amy. "If I wanted to build some sort of secret doomsday machine (assuming that's what it is,) in a secret base (assuming there is one), a cliffside wouldn't be half bad. Assuming you wanted to risk your life building the thing and spend more money than you have. But the point is, that's where they might be."

"Indeed," said Tekno. "Of course, we must still be sure there is actually such a base here."

"Course there is!" said Sticks. "Where there's a cliff, you can always be sure there's a dirty rotten EVIL FORTRESS (TM) sitting right underneath! And you know what they're doing in that EVIL FORTRESS (TM)? Thinking up ways to turn us into fast food critters and sell us on the black market, that's what!"

Shortfuse was not amused. Then again, when was he ever? "Urge. To kill. Rising."

"In that case, why don't you take that 'urge to kill' and use it motivate yourself to see where if there's a base under the cliff?" said Johnny.

Without saying a word, Johnny flew precisely where Johnny told him to go, though with his eyes burning more brightly and intense than ever, it was clear he wasn't happy about it. It wasn't long before he came back up, apparently having found what they were looking for. "Yeah, it's there alright. It's not exactly an evil fortress, but it is a base of some kind."

"Let me take a look." Tekno fluttered down the cliff and promptly flew back up to the surface, not taking long at all to confirm Shortfuse's findings. "He is correct. There IS something down there, and it is large and complex enough that it would have taken months to build it. Eggman must have planned this well in advance. Though seeing as there were not any scanners to detect us, it's apparent that he was still working on security."

"That suits me fine," said Johnny. "I was hoping Manic would be here to help us sneak in, but with any luck, that's not gonna be necessary."

"Maybe," said Amy, "but it'd still be nice to have someone who's used to breaking into places. But it's not like we can wait."

"Agreed," said Tekno. "The vibrations have actually died down and are somewhat more manageable, but if my readings are correct, this is just a prelude."

"Then we'd better get down there. Can you and Shortfuse carry us down?"

"Possibly. Shortfuse should not have a problem, but unlike him, I require my arms to fly. Still, I suppose someone could piggyback if they were so inclined."

"Then it's settled. Amy, you and Sticks grab on to Tekno or Shortfuse. Then someone can come back up for me. Think you can manage that?"

"Long as I'm not carrying the schizo," said Shortfuse. "Seriously, she's a frigging maniac!"

Sticks promptly began waving her arms around like a frigging manic. "Hey! Who you calling a frigging manic?! And what's 'frigging'?!"

"Not a problem," said Johnny to Shortfuse. It was settled. Tekno took down Sticks down to the base while Shortfuse carried down Amy. That just left Johnny, and as Shortfuse took him down, he was finally able to get a good look at the thing for himself.

It had been built upon an extensive scaffolding branching out from the cliff and into a portion of the mountain that had been hollowed out. As Shortfuse said, it was less of an EVIL FORTRESS (TM) and more of a base. It was large and imposing with giant retractable metal doors acting as the bases' entrance, though it didn't exactly spell EVIL. Presumably, there had to have been a backdoor somewhere. How else would everyone in there get in and out? But that was neither here nor there.

"Here's our stop." Shortfuse landed Johnny on the scaffolding in front of the entrance, where everyone was waiting.

"No guards," said Amy. "They must be pretty confident that no-one could break into this place. Either that or they thought no-one could."

"Guess they haven't met me," said Shortfuse. He started to walk up to the doors, intent on busting them a new one. "First time for everything."

"Hold on a minute," said Tekno.

"What now?!"

"If we just bash in the front door, wouldn't they know we were here? Would not sneaking in be more prudent?"

"Not unless you know how to sneak in. You got an answer to that?"

"Possibly." Tekno walked over to the side of the door. Located right next to it was a keypad, presumably for opening the thing. "I would've preferred Manic to handle this, but I think I may still be able to crack it." She reached into her satchel and pulled out a tiny metal dot. "This will have to do." She placed it on the pad where, like a Christmas tree, it lit up with all the colours of the rainbow. It then let out a low hum like a vibrator and turned itself off just as quickly. When it was finished, its colour had been drained, and the door opened with all the grace of someone's mouth being forced open.

"Okay. I'm impressed."

Stick was also impressed, though for entirely different reasons. "Oh Gaea, old man metal is yawning! Watch out!"

"Wow, Tek'!" said Amy. "That was awesome!"

Tekno placed the dot back in her satchel, even as smoke began to fume from its' inners. "We developed this device a week back. As you just saw, they're useful for cracking passwords and keycodes in a pinch without setting off any alarms. Unfortunately, they don't last beyond a single use."

"Then why'd you just put that thing back in your purse?" said Shortfuse.

Tekno started to get peeved. "Firstly, it is not a purse, it's a satchel! And secondly, so that they can't collect it and replicate it for themselves. The good news is that we are also working on a device that can be used infinitely, but it is going to take much more time and effort to create these little wonders. But in any case, I believe we should be moving."

"Quite," said Johnny. "Okay, everyone. You know all those books and plays where everyone splits up and is then killed off one by one because they're easy pickings and dumb young idjits? We're not doing that. Everyone sticks together, and anyone who actually tries to split up gets a blast of energy in the ass. We understand each other?"

"I think so," said Sticks, "but I just wanna to be sure. You did say you want everyone to dump themselves in pig grease and do the hula, right?"

Johnny pointed his weapon towards the entrance and told her in no uncertain terms, "Move it."

"Okay, okay! I just wanna know where I'm supposed to find a tub of pig grease, that's all." She mosied on over to the entrance, though not without trying to get in some last words. "I don't even have to follow your crummy orders you know! I could be doing better things! Like glueing dead squirrels onto houses to ward of the dirty stinking aliens who are gonna kill us all! I know you're out there—"

"MOVE. IT."

"Yeesh, okay okay, fine. Someone needs to chill." After much protesting, she started walking into the base. And with exasperated sighs as though they weren't sure how much more they could take, everyone else followed suit.

* * *

"Yeesh. We must be in the thing's stomach by now! I don't wanna get digested!"

Sticks was gawking at the sheer ludicrousy of the place. The walls were alternating between rusty plates of metal and sheer rock, though the floor was pure metal plates. Lightbulbs were sparse, and only barely lit up what was a poor excuse for a base. Spinning metal dicks whirred and rotated on the walls, presumably serving the place's batteries, and conveyor belts occasionally served as makeshift walkways. It was almost as this base was nothing but an afterthought.

"Come on, Sticks!" said Amy. "You aren't going to get digested. How could you, anyway?"

Shortfuse slowly slid his metal-covered palm over his helmet. "You had to ask."

"Are you serious?!" said Sticks. "We're smackdab in the middle of a mountain, and as everyone knows, mountains are really giant soul-sucking rock giants that are trying to lull us all into a false sense of security! Well, you ain't fooling me! YOU HEAR ME MOUNTAIN?"

"Quiet, Sticks!" whispered Johnny. "You're lucky they haven't found us already."

"Speaking of which, that is odd," said Tekno. "You would have thought there would have been some form of security by now."

"Maybe Eggman or whoever's running this place didn't think they'd need it," said Amy. "If we didn't have Tekno or Shortfuse or someone who could fly with us, we certainly wouldn't have found it."

"Possibly," said Johnny. "But just because we haven't run into any yet doesn't mean we won't. Better keep your eyes peeled."

"Will do," said Amy. "That said, has anyone else noticed something odd?"

"Like what?" said Shortfuse.

"Well, I guess it's actually not noticing something. Like a vibration. Anyone notice that we're NOT noticing it?"

It was then that it dawned on them like a revelation. For whatever reason, the vibration had stopped. Either that or they simply couldn't feel it.

Tekno checked her readings, determined to sort this matter out to the best of her ability. "Hm. According to this, the vibrations are still going. And yet we cannot feel them. I would guess that this place was built to absorb vibrations. After, it this is where the vibrations originate from, it would make sense that whoever is responsible for them would want to make sure their base was left standing."

"In any case," said Johnny, "we've got to get moving. Let's do it to it, people."

And so they did. They continued walking down the corridors and moving down the belts, occasionally looking up at the dim lights and wondering if this wasn't all some sort of trap. That said, there was one upside. It gave them plenty of time to think. And as Amy rubbed her brain cells together, she couldn't help but think about something she wasn't sure she wanted to think about. Or should have. But it wouldn't be long before she had to know.

"Johnny?"

"Yeah, Amy?"

"I hate to ask but, well, we didn't see your parents back in the village. Did we?"

Like a rolling mine cart suddenly coming to a halt, Johnny stopped dead in his tracks. But also like a mine cart, it didn't last long. "No. We didn't. Why do you ya ask?"

"Just curious."

Johnny wasn't sure at first where he should have gone from there. He could have shut up about it. Kept on walking, continue to focus solely on getting to their destination wherever it might have been. And yet, like with his sister, he couldn't help but feel that perhaps it was time to tell someone the truth.

"Mom died about a year after Lily. She tried to carry on. She really did. But Lily meant the world to her. With Lily gone, she didn't see much of a reason to keep on living. And Dad? Lily was bad enough, but Mom's death drove him over the edge. He was always a booze-hound, but loosing Lily and Mom just made it worse. Bout three years ago, he died from liver failure. So that makes me and Clarence the only ones left."

Silence. Or at least there was for a while. No-one was quite sure just what to say. How could they? But if nothing else, it did settle one thing. Any doubts on whether they shouldn't have felt sorry for him were dashed. And as soon as they were, they all finally found the words. Or at least one of them did.

"Look, Johnny," said Amy. "I can't say I know what you're going through. I've still got both of my parents, and they still love me more than anything. I've never had a sister either. But I can tell you one thing. You're not alone. Sally's lost her dad and even her mom from what I understand. Manic apparently lost his mom. Tails lost both of his parents. And I don't know what happened to Cream's dad. Everyone's lost loved ones, and sometimes they feel like they're responsible somehow. I'm not going to say whether you are or not, though personally, I don't think you are. But I will say even if you are, half of the people here might feel the same way."

Shortfuse didn't say a word. Not that he wanted to. But one long, narrow look from those red peepers into Johnny's eyes still said so much more than a thousand words could.

Sticks started to rub her eyes as though a dam was beginning to break. "It's true ya know. My dad might have been a dirty rotten deadbeat who deserved to be locked up in the pits of bananaramma hell for all eternity, but my mom was… she was somethin' else. And sometimes, I wonder if there somethin' I could've done. Anything. Even wishing to the lucky-ducky Gods for good lucky-ducky luck. But what happened, happened! There's nothing you can do to change it, so don't beat yourself up like a punching bag about it! Because most of us here are goin' through the same thing."

Johhny scratched his head as though he had a nasty itch, doing his best to sort out what seemed to be a personal conundrum. "Look, guys. I get what you're saying, and I appreciate it. I really do. But none of that's gonna change the fact that if I hadn't gone up there and yelled at my sister, she might still be alive."

"Or she might still be dead," said Shortfuse. "For all you know, she could've just fallen anyway and gone up to Gaea in a blast of ash even if you hadn't been there."

"Shortfuse!" said Amy, as though he had just slapped Johnny in the face.

"Actually, he might be right," said Tekno. "Regardless, the past is the past. Whether or not you were or were not responsible is irrelevant. What you need to do now is to figure out where you go from here."

"I know that!" said Johnny. "But it's a lot harder than it looks. Cause movin' on means letting go. And I'm not sure that's somethin' I can do."

"Hold it!" whispered Sticks. Like a bunch of skittish animals, everyone stopped in their tracks. "I hear somethin'. Stick to the walls like paint and don't move so much as a muscle till I say so. Got it?"

"Who died and made you boss?" said Shortfuse.

"Just do what she says!" whispered Johnny. The lot of them sidled to the wall as flat as they could make themselves. Sticks peeped around the corner like a cat, and it was then that she saw them. Two troopers were standing on opposite sides of a rectangular metallic door. Another two were busy patrolling the corridor all the way to just shy of the corners, as though they were somehow forbidden from going further.

"Two guards standing next to the door, two more walkin' up and down like they own the place," whispered Sticks. "Which they do. Yay capitalism!"

"Don't like this," whispered Tekno. If the sudden lack of words on her part was any indication, she was starting to get just slightly antsy. Again. "Feels like trap. Take word for it."

"Uh, hey, you okay, Tekno?" whispered Amy. "What happened to using full sentences?"

"Don't worry about it, people," whispered Johnny. "Tekno already told me about this. For now, just focus on figuring out whether or not it's a trap."

Shortfuse wasn't having any of it. "Are you serious? We can take 'em! Let's go in there and kick some badnik tail!"

"Oh no, you don't! I am not having you goin' in there and messing things up just because you want to have a throwdown! Especially since there may or may not be a trap."

"You and what army?" whispered Shortfuse.

"This one!" Johnny held up his weapon and pointed it towards Shortfuse, letting him know he had better know what he was bargaining with. "A few weeks ago, you might have had an argument purely on force of arms, but with this little puppy and everyone's else talents, the odds are a lot more balanced. Nevermind that Tek's got somethin' special up her sleeve."

Amy was taken aback. "She does? This is the first I've heard of it."

"That's cause we figured something like THIS might happen. We wanted to be ready. And now, I think we are. Face it, Shortfuse. You're outnumbered. Now, you wanna go back to playing by the rules? Or do you want a war on two fronts? You might be able to win, sure, but the question is, who would ya win against? And which side would you have to beat up next? Are they gonna be so forgiving after what you've done? You ready to answer all that?"

In a moment, Shortfuse seemed to become engulfed in a flash of rage, his genuine anger leaking through those red glowing eyes like a monster-sized sieve. And yet, just as quickly, it diminished like the calming waves of the sea. As though something in the back of his mind was telling him that this was a very, VERY stupid idea.

"Oy. Fine. We'll do it your way. But second we start busting some heads, I get first dibs."

"Whatever." Johnny had bigger fish to fry. In any case, Sticks might have had a point. They hadn't encountered any security up until then even though they well should have, and there were only four troopers outside the door to what was presumably the base's inner sanctum. Something was up. But what to do about it?

Suddenly, Johnny heard Sticks playing with SOMETHING right next to his bad self. Because of course she was. When he turned to face her, he noticed she was tossing around, of all things, a Boomerang.

Because of course she was.

"Sticks?" Johnny whispered.

"Yeah?" whispered Sticks. "Make it quick. Me and are having some quality time!"

"Well, I guess you already answered what you're doin'. The next question is, why?"

"Well, seeing as we aren't just rushin' in with wild abandon, I figured I needed somethin' to keep me busy. And no-one's better at keeping me busy than !"

"So you've had that thing with you the whole time?"

"Yeah."

"Where exactly?"

"Trust me, you don't wanna know. Now can me and get back to having some quality time?"

"In a minute. I think 's gonna come in handy."

Like an act of divine inspiration, it suddenly all clicked in Tekno's head like clockwork. "Johnny, if do what think you do…"

Shortfuse and Amy were a bit puzzled by Tekno's contracted speech, but Johnny understood perfectly. "You got it. Sticks, I got a favour to ask."

"GASP! So your true colours are revealed! Well, let me tell you somethin', buster! I'm only gonna marry the man or woman or intimate objects I love, and—"

Johnny cut to the quick. "Sticks, I wanna borrow ."

That did the trick. The wind was knocked straight out of her sails like being sucker-punched. "Come again?"

"Actually, to be a bit more specific, I want you to throw straight around the corner and right in front of those Troopers. Think you can do that for me?"

"Why should I?"

"Because if you don't, I'm gonna give Shortfuse permission to bash 's lights out and use that laser blaster of his to turn him into kindle. We understand each other?"

Shortfuse readied his blaster, just in case Johnny wasn't lying to his face. "Now this I like!"

"Hey!" whispered Sticks. "That's blackmail!"

"Yup," whispered Johnny. "So, you gonna throw or is Shortfuse gonna burn to ash? Your choice."

Sticks grumbled under her breath, muttering something about one day sacrificing Johnny to the taco Gods if this went south. She sidled closer to the wall and poked her out just enough so she could see where she was aiming.

"Remember, don't aim at anyone in particular. Just throw it."

And throw it she did.

As the boomerang whizzed through the corridor, a low, steady rumbling could suddenly be heard. Like a dozen small drills drilling through the Earth, it quickly started to grow in volume and intensity. Almost like a volcano. Until it stopped. And when it did, the entire floor caved in, sending the four oblivious and unsuspecting robots to their graves.

"Brilliant," said Tekno. "Motion detector explosives. Planned to go off when something other than troopers go past. save day."

"Wow!" said Amy. "Good thinking, Johnny!"

" had better get back in one piece!"

"Hold it," said Johnny. "I don't think we're done. Those guards should have noticed the boomerang for one thing. But they didn't. So that means they were either brain dead or…"

Just as Sticks caught her boomerang with a clutched hand (" !"), a low rumble could be heard from down below in the deep, dark chasms. An equally low whirring soon followed. And in short order, both the rumbling and whirring became louder. And louder. And louder. Until it was apparent that something down there was coming up after them.

"…a bunch of pawns."

"Out of the way." Shortfuse stepped forward near the chasm and looked down below, his red pupils allowing him to see things no-one else could. And while what he saw may not have beggared description, it still wasn't something you saw every day.

"Guys," he said, "normally I wouldn't say this, but we'd better find some way to get through that door and lock it down. Fast."

"What down there?" said Tekno?"

"That's what I wanna know," said Johnny. "What in Gaea's name is coming up after us?"

"You ain't gonna believe this, but…"

"But what?!"

"Take a looksie." As Shortfuse extended his light, Johnny could finally see what lay below in the chasm. And what he saw wasn't exactly thrilling.

Rolling up the walls on gravity-defying tractor wheels were a small army of blue and yellow Grounder lookalikes, only with no mouths and wearing small blue caps on their heads. They still had those drills and were pointing them up like spikes. If Johnny and the others had kept on walking into that corridor and fallen into the chasm below, they might have been done for. If the height of the fall wasn't enough to do some of them in.

In any case, unlike Grounder, these copycats had no discernible personality to speak of. As they inched up the walls of the chasm like a legion of the damned, Johnny wasn't sure if they could get out of this one. Well, okay, they COULD, because they were if nothing else as slow as molasses. But as is, they weren't going to be able to make much headway. Not with that many of them coming at them. Unless…

"Tekno! You're on!" Normally, Johnny felt he would have had to give some sort of order or another, something with actual detail and direction, but he also felt he knew Tekno well enough that she'd already figured it all out from day one.

"Gladly." Tekno was standing straight, her confidence and full powers of speech restored, and it was apparent that she knew exactly what to do. She stepped toward the edge of the chasm before pulling out an engraved wristband and slipping it around her wrist. She raised her arms into the air and held out her hand, her fingers twitching like a pianist at their keyboard. She held two fingers together on each hand and slid them forward in the air like knives. And that was when the magic started.

A green gem in the armlet glowed in an instant. As soon as it did, a sharp wave of sheer wind launched forth from the first two fingers and sliced through the first swarm of robots like butter, just as they were about to reach the top. The same happened to the other one. Diced like sushi. She sliced and diced and sliced like a fine chef, making sure not to stop for an instant until the coast was clear.

Not that it took long. Within a minute, all of the Grounder copies had been shredded to ribbons. Seeing as they weren't very durable in the first place, it wasn't an especially hard task, but she did it all the same. And as Tekno breathed on two of her fingers like blowing the smoke away from a gun, Shortfuse and Amy couldn't help but stand there in awe.

"Wow," said Amy.

"When the hell did that happen?!" said Shortfuse.

Tekno raised up her armlet, both glowing and nervous at finally getting a chance to be in the spotlight. Like someone who won the Peace prize only to wonder if they really deserved it. "It's quite simple. Both Porker and Manic's primary weapons were created by copying Cream's energy signature and altering it for a different effect. In my case, I used it to grant myself the power of wind. And I must admit, it has proven itself quite useful. Though I hope I did not harm the animals inside."

As if to answer Tekno's question, green protective bubbles of hard light briefly floated up into the air from the Badniks, each containing a cute, cuddly critter within. After a moment, the bubbles dissipated, leaving the animals unharmed and free to do as they pleased.

"That answers that question," said Johnny. "Probably the same thing that happened back at Green Hill. Not that I was paying enough attention to notice."

Sticks meanwhile was busy kneeling profusely as though she were a humble plebian begging for forgiveness. "Oh please, servant of the wing! Spare me! I didn't mean to stick that exploding eggplant in 's pants! Even though all clowns should be burned and cleansed with fire! DON'T TURN ME INTO SUSHI!"

Shortfuse swore he was starting to lose his mind. Then again, so did nearly everyone else. "Okay, what is your problem?! I hate to— no, I DON'T hate to break it to you, that is NOT NORMAl!"

"Hey, you try living in the woods by yourself for ten yours and see if you can keep yourself off the deep end. See how long you last." And after this brief moment of sanity, she went right back to her now daily prayer. "Spare me! No sushi! NO SUSHI!"

Johnny wasn't sure what was worse; Stick's rambling or the fact that he was starting to get used it. "In any case, with that out of the way, that just leaves one more incredibly pressing question."

"And what's that?" asked Amy.

As if to answer her question, Johnny simply pointed at the door. A door that now had no obvious way to reach it.

"Oh." And as Amy started racking her brain for an obvious solution, she wasn't sure if there was an obvious answer.


	38. Remembrance, Part 4

"I've got it!"

Amy lifted one gloved finger in the air as if to say, 'Eureka!' As it turned out, there WAS an obvious answer. It took her a minute to rack her little grey cells together, but she found it. Not that she was the only one. For right as she made her proclamation, Tekno and Johnny did the exact same thing. And as they stared at one another, they began to wonder if perhaps there should have been a limit on brainpower.

"Oh," she said. "Uh, I guess we're all thinking the same thing, huh?"

Sticks decided to chime in, peppy as ever. "You mean we're all thinking about how we could sell all those Grounder bits for scrap on the black market and use whatever's left over as back scratchers? Great minds think alike!"

"One more peep out of you and gets it!" Shortfuse aimed his wrist blaster at Stick's boomerang as though he were about to shoot its' non-existent brains out.

"You and what army?!"

Johnny was close to having as much as he could take. "Can it, people! We've got a job to do and maybe not much time to do it. Anyway, I'm guessing bout half of us figured out how to get over there. The obvious part is having Shortfuse fly over and bust the door open. Problem is, we don't know what's lyin' behind it. Might be nothin', might be somethin'. And I've got a hunch its somethin'."

"Same," said Amy. "So, assuming we're all thinking the same thing, we're going to want to be ready for whatever's behind there. Which is kind of a problem when there isn't any real way to walk across."

"And assuming we are all still thinking the same thing," said Tekno, "this is where I come in."

"Exactly," said Johnny. "Assuming you've got enough of a handle on that thing, you should be able to give us all an updraft so we can all float across like dandelion seeds. Then, when Shortfuse opens the door, you can blast us in there before they know what hit 'em."

"Exactly what I was thinking," said Amy.

"Sounds good to me," said Tekno. "Did you hear all of that, Shortfuse?"

"Yeah, yeah. Wait for you to get everyone else over there, then blast it six ways to Sunday. Least it'll give me a chance to pound the living daylights out of something."

"Then I guess that settles it," said Johnny. "Everyone ready?"

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. Even Sticks, despite making a brief objection as to how the wind Gods would not be pleased someone was making a mockery of them. By this point, they all just took it as a yes.

"Right then," he said. "Let's get to it." Johnny was confident that at last, they were finally on the right track. As far as he was concerned, they now had the upper hand. What he didn't know was that there was a tiny camera sticking right out of the nearby corner. It was big enough to see what was right in front of it but small enough to remain out of sight unless one squinted. And what it was wasn't exactly encouraging.

* * *

"Those little punks!"

Axel was sitting in the back of a small, dingy little room like a hungry man eager for the feast as he watched the same small monitor as everyone else. He was more or less the same as ever; still tall, still as strong and broad as a Buick, and still as much of a brute. The only difference was that he had a new set of cybernetic peepers. They were a lot like Eggman's set; pitch black with sharp, bright red iris' straight in the middle. "Can't believe this! They did it again! Pulled somethin' right out of their ass!"

"Least they haven't got your eyes yet, huh? Again" A second figure was sitting right next to Axel laid back in a recliner and was in fact a machine rather than a Mobian, but like certain others of his ilk, he seemed to have an actual personality. He was a hulking, robotic, bipedal monstrosity, with a horn at the top of his head and a robotic dragon's muzzle for a snout. His large wings towered over all with the only thing coming close being the rest of his person, and he looked down upon anyone he went up against with a sense of superiority matched by none other himself. "Oh, this is gonna be good."

"I do not see how." Standing far away from the others against the back wall was a much more enigmatic sort. She wore a pure white cloak laced with silver, and it was paired with a matching suit and mask of white spandex that covered her entire body. The mask itself was something of a mystery. It was almost impenetrable. It didn't seem to portray any expressions whatsoever, which made sense seeing how it didn't have a proper face beyond the essentials. The only trace of her identity was a snippet of blonde hair, which still didn't tell much. "After all, they seem to be far more powerful than we reckoned with. If you wish, I could probably conceal our positions while we engineered a hasty retreat. It would be better than engaging in such pointless bloodshed."

"Who say's it's pointless?" The robot sat up in the recliner and leaned forward slightly like his namesake, as though he was eager to rip somebody a new one. "I'm itchin' for someone to kill! Or barring that, someone I can just have a good fight with. It's gonna be too much fun! And sometimes, fun's the only 'point' ya need."

"I beg to differ! You keep saying 'or' or 'this' or 'them' without any difference between the two! Life is sacred. You cannot dismiss it with the same sort of irrelevance as knocking over an ant hole."

"Oh, but I think you can, actually." Walking through a small, barely visible door at the front of the room was a short, slightly mousy Mobian wearing an orange jumpsuit. His somewhat long, black hair was slicked back, and he briefly paused to push back his glasses before resuming his little speal. He spoke in a slightly nasally voice; half almost resembling something grand and majestic and the other being closer to a whiny school nerd from fourth grade. Just which one he was — or perhaps he was both — was best left to discretion.

"Sir Alcubus—"

"That's Sir AHEM Alcubus to you!" he snapped.

"Sir Ahem Alcubus." She said his full name, though she did so without the least bit of reverence. "Are you sure this is such a good idea? In fact, it's practically as if you've let them through the front door as is."

"I know," he said. "Brilliant, is it not? First, we lull them into a false sense of security before literally pulling the rug out from under them when they least expect it! And then we drop them onto a bed of moving spikes! Mind you, the last time I attempted something of this sort, it didn't work so well. I still have that scar underneath my undies. But my next plan will succeed with flying colours, I'm sure of it!"

"And what plan will that entail, Sir Ahem Acubus? Performing a standup routine and hoping they laugh themselves to death?"

"Hey, Lightmare's got a point!" said Dragonbreath. "You ask me, we should've just torn into them from Day 1. Really put the fear of Gaea into them!"

"Quiet, you!" said Ahem. "And that goes for you too, Lightmare. You might not be one of Robotnik's creations, but you're still on loan from Draco. As long as you are, you will do exactly what I say. Understood?"

For a while, Lightmare didn't say a word. As if she nearly couldn't. As though very present and very harsh realities were crushing down on her, so much so that she could barely breathe until she finally found just enough wiggle room to whisper a very weak, "Yes."

"Very good. So there had better not be any more objections. I know you've already had enough to say about the broader plan here, so you had better keep any more such thoughts to yourself. Especially when you aren't even going to do anything about them. Now, are there any more dissenters? How about you, Axel?"

Axel let out a hot snort of air from his nostrils as if saying all he really wanted to without actually saying it."Not my place. Group's gotta have faith in one another. Faith that everyone's working in everyone else's best interests and that they're pulling each other through. Mind, this is a lost cause half the time, but it's something I'll stick to as long as I can. So you'd better give me a reason to stick to it." He then gave Ahem a death glare, his red and black cybernetics practically spelling murder itself.

Ahem gulped like a ninny. "Ah, ahem, quite. In any case, I'd best address the natives. Lightmare, you and the rest of the peanut gallery know what to do. And no objections."

And as Ahem walked towards the door leading to the central room of Gimmick Mountain, she had to wonder if she had indeed been doing the right thing. And then she had to wonder if that even mattered.

* * *

Tekno lightly lifted up both hands as if to call a gentle breeze. A strong current of wind formed underneath everyone except her and Shortfuse, lifting them up into the air like they were being buoyed. Johnny didn't seem to care either way while Amy was doing her best to keep her skirt over her undies. "REALLY outta change my wardrobe! Maybe a pink minidress? Or a plaid sweater 'round the waist? Though I guess either one wouldn't really help!"

Sticks meanwhile was having a ball. For one thing, she didn't seem to care if anyone saw her undies. Or the rest of her. 'Modesty' was an unknown word in her dictionary. Instead, she was twirling about in the air like a top, swirling around with wild abandon and squeeing like a schoolgirl. "WHEE!"

"Someone's havin' fun," said Johnny.

"Course I am!" said Sticks. "The wind Gods can go screw themselves, this is a blast!"

Meanwhile, Shortfuse was busy cradling an oncoming headache. The cause of said headache being a giggling badger who didn't know when to shut up. "Let's just get this over with. The sooner we're done, the sooner I don't have to keep myself from turning someone into paste!" He flew over to the door and manoeuvred himself into position before readying his blaster. "Ready, Tek'?"

"As I will ever be." She then spread out her wings and flew over to the end of the corridor, making sure to keep Johnny and the others straight behind. "I believe we have made it."

"Okey-dokey. Let's kick some ass!" Shortfuse then rammed his fingers into the edges of the door and ripped it out of its frame. However, rather than hurling it into the depths below, he had a different idea. He rammed straight ahead, and he didn't have to see the Swatbots to hear two of them suddenly firing on him with wild abandon.

"Now this is my idea of fun!" He held up the door like a shield just until the end of the current round of fire. With only the briefest of windows, he hurled it straight into one bot and fired his laser blaster at the other one's helmet. Now with the door out of the way, he could finally see what was going on in front of him. And the first thing he saw was two SWATbots down for the count.

Just then, Tekno and the others came sweeping in right behind him. She made sure to land them just far enough apart so that they weren't all one big target, but close enough that they could act as one. And now in the room herself, what Tekno saw astonished her. As much as it did everyone else.

In the centre of this rather large and spacious room was a giant, hollow, transparent cylinder surrounding a thinner, more visibly solid one right within its' centre. It was pumping up and down, up and down, straight into the earth, and only those who had half a brain would assume it didn't have anything to do with the vibrations.

But that would have to wait. All of a sudden, Sticks suddenly became alert, as though she had been on an epic binge and was finally getting herself sober. She stared wide-eyed all around her as if she could see something only she could see. But that would have to wait. For she suddenly heard something everyone could hear. Though it was what she was hearing that caught her off guard. Was that... clapping?

She and the others looked up at the ceiling to see Ahem. He was standing upon an elevated platform in the back of the room, waiting for them as if he had been doing it all his life.

"Brilliant! Brilliant!" He clapped his hands like he was at a golf tournament. "You've certainly surpassed my expectations. Honestly, I wasn't sure if you could make it this far. I would've thought those traps would've done you in for sure. Or at the very least make it impossible to progress."

"You do realize that would've made it a heck of a lot harder for the both of you to get out of here too, right?" said Amy.

"Oh, come now! Let us not bother with such minor details!" He started to walk over to a set of stairs, slowing making his way to a control panel right next to the cylinder. Not that this didn't stop him from monologuing all the while. "You are here, I am here, we're all here! And seeing as we are all here, it wouldn't be proper to do anything but properly introduce ourselves. I am Ahem Acubus, scientist extraordinaire! And you would be…"

"None of your damned business!" said Shortfuse.

"What he means to say is," said Johnny, "that he's wondering why you're bein' so chatty after trying to kill us. And for all we know, that's not the worst you've done."

"Oh, it isn't." Ahem pointed to the cylinder in the centre of the room. "I'm sure you've figured out what this is for?"

"Allow me to guess," said Tekno. "This is creating the vibrations that have been running amok throughout the island, aren't they?"

"Precisely! This device connects this entire facility to the Earth, giving us power and allowing us to create those deafening vibrations. This base has enough shielding to resist them, but the rest of the island isn't so lucky."

"And when the vibrations reach their peak, waves of lava will arise from the pits and smother the entire village and everything around it. Correct?"

"Correct! Of course, this is just a test model. Further instalments should prove capable of extending the lava's reach throughout all of the Acorn Kingdom. Once we've made this clear, you'll have no choice but to bow down to us like the superior beings that we are!"

"And by 'we', you mean 'Doctor Eggman, I take it?"

Ahem Alcubus flinched as though someone had stomped on his good toe. Not that it lasted long. "If you must know, yes. He was the only one who saw my genius for it was, rather than something to be mocked and riddled. He understands completely. So he gave me a job and set me up with this place while I assisted him by putting my plans into action!"

"Does that include melting down my home?" said Johnny. Johnny was at the ready, waiting for the right time to move in and shut the place down. But something told him for now that it would be best to wait. Like waiting for the world to end.

"Yes, unfortunately." Ahem lowered his head and looked wistfully upwards, as if trying to see through the stars themselves. "You see, this is just Step 1. This merely a trial phrase. By overflowing part of the island with lava, we'll show the Federation just how much we mean business. Then, we'll do the same thing with a volcano on a small island. Show we're truly playing hardball. And then, when they finally turn our generous offer down in a misguided attempt at nobility and altruism, we'll be able to drown the entire world in righteous fury and take ourselves out in a tremendous blaze of glory! What do you think of that?!"

Nearly everyone in the room was either stupefied, stunned, speechless, or all three. But alone among all others, Sticks was the only one having a laughing fit. It started low. Just a snicker. But a snicker turned into a chortle. A chortle into a guffaw. A guffaw into a laugh. And a laugh into a head over heels righteous uproar.

Even Johnny wasn't sure what to make of it. "Sticks? You okay?"

"Am I okay?" Sticks brought a finger to her eye, wiping an oh so precious tear away. "I'm better than okay! I'm hysterical! Ahem, let me tell ya, I gotta thank ya, cause I haven't heard anything else that's such a mix of a genius and lunacy! Stupid lunacy that is."

Ahem wasn't liking where this was going, as evidenced by the hard clutching of his small cane. "Are you saying that my plan isn't going to work?"

While Ahem was beginning to have a conniption, Amy finally understood. The brains had started whirring in her metaphorical processor, and her mouth grew into a small grin that perfectly captured both the insanity and lunacy of the situation.

"I think so. Sticks had the right idea. For one thing, even assuming you could do it, destroying part of the island isn't going to do you any favours. You don't get anything out of it in the long run. In fact, you'd lose. You think things are bad now with us gunning for you? Well, you even try this, and the entire world will want your head on a platter. Any and all secrecy will be out the window."

"Same here," said Sticks. "And besides, what are you gonna do if you actually blow the whole thing up? This being Egg Manchu or whatever, he wants to conquer the Earth because he can, I guess, not destroy it! Which really just makes me wonder something that really gets to me."

"Allow me, Sticks. Alcubus. Eggman doesn't know what you're REALLY doing here, does he?"

He'd been caught in the act. Ahem stepped back and began to stutter as though he was just learning the English language, though it didn't last long. "Uh, ahem, that is to say, he doesn't know because I haven't told him! And for good reason."

"And what reason could that be?" said Tekno. "That he would slaughter you if he learned the truth?"

"No, he wouldn't! He just, he doesn't understand. Not yet. The world is cruel, the world is corrupt! It treats scientists like us, people like me like dirt! There's no point in taking over a world not worth saving! If he could only understand that…"

"I think he's losing it," said Shortfuse.

And indeed, he was. His hair was starting to become dishevelled, his voice was becoming ever more frantic, and it was clear he had something else up his sleeve. "Am not! Just a bit, uh, tired, that's all! That's right! Because you never know when one of my great inventions will finally get the upper hand and take you down in an instant!

"Look, punk," said Shortfuse. "Normally I'd just end you right now, but my bosses don't want anything to do with that. I think. Do we or don't we?"

"Not unless it's necessary," said Johnny. "And I'm pretty sure it isn't. Is it?"

"I don't believe so," said Tekno.

"That settles it. Now, , I think you've made it pretty clear that the only option here is to shut this place down. Not that you've really made it all that difficult for us. If you had a swarm of bots waiting for us, you might've been able to stop us long enough for your plan to go off without a hitch. But you couldn't even get that right. So are you gonna back off? Or are you gonna try again? Which would be the definition of insanity by the way. What's it gonna be?"

"NO!"

Just then, as if by some divine act from on high, things picked up a notch. Ahem clicked his fingers as if sending out a command, and in an instant, three mysterious figgers in cloaked white hoods came to be as if popping out of the ether.

Before anyone else could respond, they were on the heroes as though they were ravenous. "TEK!" shouted Johnny. Her eyes wide, Tekno unleashed a wide blast of wind, knocking Ahem and all the masked fingers straight to the edge of the walls while blowing away most of their cloaks in the process. They all slowly got off the ground, rubbing their eyes and creaking their necks. As they did so, Johnny and the others were able to get a real good look at them. Strangly enough, the cloaks seemed to slowly vanish, as if they had never been there in the first place.

The first near the door was a familiar face: Axel. "Guess the secret's out. Suites me fine."

"Just great," said Johnny. Just then, he heard something rather LOUD straight from behind: A tremendous, hulking blast of fire. He pressed a button on his weapon and let out his own, or at least an energy blast that looked like one. The two blasts collided in mid-air like two small meteors smashing each other to bits and dissipated just as quickly.

"Well, ain't that something?" Dragonbreath wiped off his mouth even though there was nothing to wipe off. Almost as if he were simply trying to appear tough for toughness' sake. "I'll give you good reaction times if nothing else. Though that's not gonna stop me from tearing into the lot of you like a dead carcass!"

"Hold!" Lightmare was the last to speak, having at least gotten her bearings. She stood tall and radiant as though a beacon of light itself, even though her current allegiance suggested anything but. "Alcubus has not given the order to strike! Though even with that being the case, attempting to burn your foes to a crisp should only be a last resort."

"That so? So you're saying I should let myself be blasted to bits? Cause that's what's gonna happen if I go easy."

"Do as she says, Dragonbreath," said Ahem. He pressed a button on his belt. Suddenly a flat forcefield arose on the ground beneath him, carrying him up into the air like a flying discus. "Now, I trust that I've made my point clear. I do not intend to come quietly, which is something you should've expected. The world has mocked me, mocked us, for too long. Eggman wishes to create his scientist's paradise, but I will make sure no-one gets to mock us again!"

"How the hell is that gonna matter when you're dead?!" said Shortfuse. "Not that I'm complaining."

"I don't care! If I survive, I survive! If I don't, I don't! It doesn't matter to me anymore. All I want is validation! Validation that I am worth something! That I can accomplish something! That all of that misery and pain I've endured is worth something! Even if it's not something good, it is SOMETHING! And destroying the planet is proof of that!"

"Whoa, time out!" Axel was starting to wonder if there was a nutter in the house. "You didn't say anything about destroying the planet! I mean, you did, but I thought that was just part of some Madman Strategy! I didn't think you were serious!"

"Hey, I wouldn't really mind myself," said Dragonbreath, "but I don't want to get melted to scraps! I'm not even sure if I've got a soul, ya know?"

"All thinking beings have a soul, Dragonbreath," said Lightmare. "But that is beside the point. And the point is that you, Ahem, have gone too far! My father suspected that something like this could have occurred, and as such gave me the privilege to revoke my allegiance if necessary. My agreement with you is null and void!"

"So, are we, like, working together now?" said Amy.

"Not so fast," said Axel. Axel picked up a scrap from one of the two SWATbots and lobbed it at Ahem's head. He tried to dodge it like a truck trying to dodge a bullet, but it wasn't to be. Within seconds, he was lying on the floor unconscious; still breathing, but only just.

"What was that for?!" said Johnny.

"Hey, just because I say the group's gotta stick together doesn't mean the leader has to stick. Once that punk comes to, we can still use him to threaten part of the island with several tons of molten lava. Not sure if we'll ever use it, but it's the thought that counts."

"Hey, I'm easy," said Dragonbreath. "Long as I get to bust some heads!"

"How bout you, Lightmare?"

"My current contract was with whoever is leading this expedition," said Lightmare. "Seeing as you were technically second in command, that appears to be you. That said, I have already revoked my current contract with Ahem But I suppose someone must make sure this does not go out of hand."

Amy took a step forward, trying her best to steer this conversation away from where she thought it was going. "Hey, aren't you being a bit premature? I mean, Ahem just said this device could potentially cover the whole planet in lava if used in the right way. Wouldn't it be better if you, you know, didn't use it all?"

"Sorry, hon," said Axe. "Orders are orders. Ahem was sick in the head, but just threatening part of the island were Eggman's original orders. And I intend on following them out." With that said, Axel slowly began walking backwards in the direction of the control console near the cylinder. He did this slowly and carefully, doing his best not to let everyone else onto what he was up. Not that it would help any. Tekno already had an eye on him, as though she already had an inkling of his true intentions. She would just have to hope it was only an inkling.

"Oh yeah?" said Sticks. "You and what army?!"

"Hey, don't jinx it, you little imp!" said Shortfuse.

"I'll jinx anything I want!" said Sticks. "Besides, jinxes are good for the soul."

Shortfuse held his hand to his head as though he nearly had an aneurysm. "Fine! Jinx it! Whatever! Just! Shut! UP!"

"Oh, I'll shut you up, alright!" said Dragonbreath, though as he launched his head back like his namesake, Axel held up one deft hand as if to tell him to hold off for just a moment longer. "Hold it," he said. "There's three of us and five of them. Maybe more on the way. So I think maybe we ought to even the odds a little." By this point, he was standing right next to the console. And it was then that it hit Tekno like a sack of bricks.

Tekno sent out a mighty gust of wind like a gale at Axel, but it wasn't enough. In a split second, he slammed one large thumb down upon it before he was knocked to the wall like a sack of bricks. Not that it stopped him from picking himself back up. "Too late. Sucks to be you."

"Tek," said Johnny, "what the hell's goin' on?"

"I do not know exactly what he is doing," she said, "but I do know that whatever that button was for must not have been anything good."

Just then, the lights began to flicker on and off, as though they were in a horror movie. A ripple of static and a low rumbling moved throughout the air, filling everything and everyone with just the slightest sense of dread. Sticks was a different story. "Huh. Gaea must be playing bowling. I WANNA PLAY!"

For her part, Lightmare was not amused. "AXEL, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

"Evening the odds," he said. "Ahem calls this thing Plasmus. Sealed it away for a special occasion. And I'm calling this a special occasion." The lights dimmed as though a looming shadow was enveloping them all before being wiped away by a blinding flash of lightning.

"EVERYONE, SHUT YOUR EYES!" said Johnny. They did so. But as they slowly opened them, they started to wonder if perhaps they should have kept them shut.

Standing in the middle of the room was a large, hulking mass of electricity and energy. It was vaguely humanoid in that it possessed basic human anatomy, but beyond that, it was more of a wild lumbering beast than anything. It was hunched over and breathing heavily like some sort of monster, and there didn't seem to be a single speck of real intelligence in what passed for its' eyes.

"Everyone," he said, "stay back! We've got no clue what we're up against!"

"Looks like a hulking mass of electricity to me," said Amy.

"Gee, thanks for the observation," said Shortfuse. "When we need somethin' from the peanut gallery, we'll let ya know."

"Whoa mamma!" said Dragonbreath. "This is gettin' fun!"

"Axel!" said Lightmare. "Are you insane?! This creature could turn upon us at any moment just as easily as it could destroy these poor souls! Please tell me there's a method to this madness!"

"Simple," he said. "When we're done dealing with these pests, we press the other button and seal this abomination back in the pits of computer hell."

"THAT IS NOT A METHOD!"

Just then, the beast roared again, this time standing up straight as it could with its' full towering height. And when it did, it looked Johnny and the others straight in the eye.

"Johnny?" said Amy.

"Yeah, Amy?" he said.

"You'd better have a method."


	39. Remembrance, Part 5

"PLAAASMUUUSS!"

The creature roared like a cross between a lion and a thunderstorm, sending static and terror throughout the room and leaving most everyone quaking in their boots. For his part, Dragonbreath actually seemed to revel in having this new abomination around, but it was possible that he was merely not programmed with the notion of fear. Or common sense.

Sticks gasped as though her life had passed before her eyes. Though as far as she was concerned, it probably had at one point or another. Literally. "Quick, everyone do the hokeypokey! It's the sign of death! When Gaea sends down the thunderbeast of Chumulu, everyone's got to do the hokeypokey or else they're a goner! Follow my lead! Put your left foot in, your right foot out—"

Shortfuse whipped out his blaster and fired a warning shot straight under Stick's lifted foot. "NOT. THE. TIME."

"He's right," said Johnny. "All of us need to get focused ASAP or we ain't gettin' out of this one. And that's a fact."

Meanwhile, Lightmare was thinking the same thing. "Axel, send it back NOW! Ahem himself said the creature was nearly uncontrollable! The only reason it hasn't killed us all yet is that it is still getting its' bearings!"

Axel pinched the bridge of his nose. Despite his insistence that things would work out okay, it was clear that he was starting to wonder if the opposite were true. "Look, we just need to get these punks taken care of first. Once we do that—"

"Once we do that, we'll all promptly be massacred and sent either to Gaea's Sanctum or the Abyss, or Hell as some call it. And I am willing to bet the latter."

Before Axel and Lightmare could start a pissing match, the creature roared again, more ferocious than ever. It was only a matter of time before it would begin to tear apart everything in sight, and everyone just had a matter of seconds to try to figure out some desperate ploy to defeat a creature that, being made out of pure energy and electricity, would likely be VERY hard to hurt. If at all.

Luckily, someone had an answer.

Johnny's ears started to prick up. "Hey, do you hear that?" They all looked towards the torn apart doorway, not that there was anything there. For a moment, it seemed as though Johnny must have been hearing things, and that all he had done was distract them from warding off their seemingly inevitable deaths.

But then Stick's ears did the same. And Amy's. And Axel's. And all of a sudden, everyone could suddenly hear a sort of whooshing sound throughout the distant corridors, rapidly getting closer and closer by the nanosecond. Suddenly, a faint green light could be seen reflecting on the doorway, and it even gained the creature's attention.

"Is that who I think it is?" said Amy.

"It had better be," said Johnny.

"Oh, it is," said Tekno. "I know that light better than anyone. Save perhaps one. And I believe he is just about…"

Everyone quickly covered their eyes as a blinding green flash briefly covered the room. And when they opened them again, a certain green hedgehog was floating down the ground in its' wake. "Hey there, peeps! Missed me?"

"...here."

"Who's the Sonic reject?" said Axel.

Typically, a round of greeting and congratulations would be shared, but this wasn't exactly the time for that. "Manic!" said Johnny. "You evacuated the villagers!"

"Yup! Hey, what's that big blue thing over there?"

"Yeah, about that. KILL IT! KILL IT NOW!"

"Come again?" The beast then roared one final time and began the slaughter in earnest. And Manic was to be its' first victim. It began to ram towards him like an out of control train with wild abandon, eager to eviscerate anyone and anything in its' path.

"WHOA MAMA!" Manic flew back up into the air and held out his ring, covering Johnny and the others in its' green light and moving them all out of harms' way like telekineses. With everyone suddenly out of his line of sight, the only thing left was the doorway. But while the creature may have been near mindless, it wasn't without the instinct of self-preservation, and promptly skidded down a ways before leaping to the side and to safety. Though not without leaving some sizzling skidmarks in its' wake. And not without giving Amy an idea.

"Hey, Manic! You can carry people in that green light of yours, right?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with—"

"Do you think you can do that to that monster over there?"

"I think so, but—"

"And do you think you can keep it one spot?"

And suddenly, everything clicked. "Oh! Oh. I getcha. Say no more!" Just then, Plasma opened its' large gaping mouth and a huge, thick beam of blue, sizzling energy spewed forth towards Manic. Not that it mattered. He summoned up a green shield of energy just in time ("I'm really getting the hang of this!), and blocked the blast as he weathered a stream of molten ash.

Before the smoke even cleared a green aura formed around the creature in an instant, shrinking and tightening and molding it until the monster was nothing more than a small, concentrated sphere.

"Okay," said Shortfuse, "that was kickass."

"Hold on now," said Johnny. "Something about this doesn't seem right."

It wasn't. The sphere began to turn and buckle, the creature struggling and doing its' best to break free of its' makeshift prison. "Uh-oh!" The aura grew brighter and brighter and Manic tightened his grip, but the ball continued to turn and bend and shift, becoming more and more out of control with each passing second. This was a losing battle, and Manic knew it well. Though even so, there was still a light at the end of the tunnel.

"I guess there's nothing for it," said Amy.

"Right," said Johnny. "Manic, you keep that thing busy! The rest of us are going for the console! With any luck, we'll be able to send that thing back where it came from and stop the vibrations while we're at it."

"Sure. Thing. Boss! Kind of hard. To concentrate. Though. Little breathing room. PLEASE!"

"You heard the man. Everyone, take 'em!" And as Tekno soared into the air and Shortfuze blazed ahead, they aimed to do just that.

In the meantime, Axel was back with Lightmare and Dragonbreath the near the controls, and they could see Johnny and company headed straight their way. "So we're back to three versus five," said Lightmare. "It is fitting, I suppose. You tried to even the odds, but it didn't matter anyway, and now there is a monster headed this way in addition to our little interlopers. I'm almost tempted to use my particular talents on YOU and set this right."

"Less talking, more fighting! WHOO!" Dragonbreath lifted back his head and blew out a scorching blast of fire. It blasted across the room towards Johnny and the others with the heat of a blazing oven.

"TEKNO!" Johnny didn't need to say a word. Tekno sent forth another blast of wind, blowing away the flame to nothingness like blowing out a candle. And all the while, Shortfuse just kept on trucking.

"Hey, no worries! I'll get 'em this time!"

"No!" said Lightmare. "I would've preferred another way, but seeing as our fearless leader is busy sticking his own cranium up his posterior, it appears I have no choice!" The white coverings over her eyes glowed with a bright, radiant light. Small globules of the stuff began to pop up like a sea of bubbles, nearly filling the room with their brilliance.

Manic was able to keep himself together, his own light shielding him, but Shortfuse and Tekno stopped dead in their tracks. "What the hell's goin' on?!" said Shortfuse. "Can't see where the hell I'm goin'!"

"It is the same with me!" said Tekno. "Although, I believe they are beginning to dim."

"Hey, you're right!" said Amy, shielding her eyes with the others. "It is starting to get a bit clearer."

"Yeah, well," said Shortfuse, "let me tell ya, when this stuff clears up, first thing I'm doin' is—"

"SHORTFUSE!"

Before Shortfuse could so much as shout, he found himself being knocked clean into the nearest wall. He remained still in the rough imprint his body had forcibly pounded into it, only moving again after doing his best to process who the heck had just clobbered him. "Okay, whoever did that to me, I swear to God—" Only when he rubbed his eyes, there was nothing there. Nothing. No Johnny, no Sticks, no Tekno, nothing. Even the walls were somewhat featureless. The only other thing standing before him was… himself.

"No. Can't be."

But it was. Standing before Shortfuse was Shortfuse. In the flesh. (Or rather metal, but that was beside the point.) Only he seemed different somehow. Less firey. Less reckless. More in control. As if there wasn't a single trace of himself in there.

As it would turn out, that was the truth of it.

"SCANNING." The other Shortfuse stared at the original, who was still too bewildered to make a move. "ANALYSIS COMPLETE. INFERIOR VERSION. STILL POSSESSES ORIGINAL PERSONALITY. IS STILL SHORTY THE SQUIRREL. IS STILL WORTHLESS."

That finally did it. "Hey, who you calling worthless?! Whoever you are?!"

"SUBJECT TOO INCOMPETENT TO UNDERSTAND. OR IS SUBJECT REFUSING TO ADMIT THEY ALREADY UNDERSTAND?"

"I'm not refusing to understand nothin'! Because you aren't me! You can't possibly be!"

"SELF IS SUBJECT. WHAT SUBJECT IS DESTINED TO BECOME. SUBJECT ONLY DELAYS INEVITABLE."

"NO! I'm not you, you hear me?! And I'm never gonna be you! Do you understand me?!"

* * *

"You understand me, Amy? It just isn't gonna work out. You and me. Course, you already know that, don't you?"

Amy was standing nearly alone in the near featureless room. She wasn't sure she was or how she got there. All she knew was that somehow, someway, someone else was standing in there with her: Sonic. It was a dream come true. Just her and her beau together with nothing else to get in the way. And yet, when she had finally expected to hear a declaration of love, she got something completely unexpected instead. Something she really didn't want to hear. Like a slap in the face.

"What are you saying, Sonic? I thought things were finally working out between us! Aren't we wonderful together?!"

"Please, babe! I mean, we've only known each other for, what, a month maybe? If that? Besides, you're just not my thing."

"Not your thing?"

"I mean, no offense, but you're just so clingy and obsessive. Hell, one time you even tried to follow me in a cardboard box!"

'Sonic' had her there. "Uh, well, I was just trying to keep an eye on you! Make sure nothing bad was happening to you! Yeah, that's it!"

"You sure about that, Amy? Cause it didn't seem like it to me."

"Look, I'm sorry if I gave the wrong impression, but I'm not like that, really!"

"Then prove it."

Amy was at a loss for words. She began to stammer, almost as if she had lost the script and was now struggling to perform some basic improv. "Look! I love you, okay?! I really do! You're the one! The one I saw in my tarot readings! We were meant to be together!"

"You actually believed those things? What are you, desperate?"

"No! It's just, I've never really been with anyone before. I'm sixteen years old. I knew girls who were already getting jiggy with it when they were thirteen!"

"So you're telling me you don't actually know what's it like to be in a real relationship?"

"Well, yeah, I guess."

"So can you really say you love me? Or do you just think you do?"

And as Amy stood there in the gloom, her head hanging low out of uncertainty and shock, all she could say was the honest truth. "I don't know."

* * *

"Don't know. Don't know. Don't know. Don't know. Don't know…"

Tekno, or rather a Tekno, was sitting with her legs sprawled out in the middle of the room. She was sitting in nothing but her underwear and was staring into space as though there was barely a coherent thought in there. All she could do was clap her hands and feathers together repeatedly, saying over and over again 'Don't know' with all the emotional delivery of a plank of wood. She was a three year old in a grown woman's body. And all Tekno could do, the 'real' Tekno, was kneel down on the ground as she watched her other self in sheer abject horror.

"No. Not me. Not me. Don't want to be her. Don't want to be me. Can't be me. Not me. Not me. NOT ME!"

* * *

"Not me! It wasn't me! Please." An old badger was sitting back on his rear end in the middle of the room, carrying nothing but a shotgun that was pointed at none other than Sticks. Who was absolutely livid.

"Course it was you! Why wouldn't it be you?!" Sticks ducked under the rifle just before it fired off a blast that would deafen a lesser badger's ears. She ripped it straight out of his trembling hands and hurled it as far away as she could before leaping over to the man and lifting him up by the collar of his dirty, worn undershirt.

"You went and left mom! You went and left me! Went and left the both of us to be nothin' but wolf chow! Only reason I survived was cause I got lucky! One of 'em had their motherly instincts kick in and took me in as their own! You know what it was like?! Loving the one who raised you but wantin' to strangle them to death?! And it's all cause of you, pa! So give me one good reason why I shouldn't do the same to you."

The old man struggled, trying his best to free himself from Stick's grip like prey struggling to free itself from the hunters' grasp, but to no avail. And so, with no other recourse left, he played his hand. "Because it was you."

"Come again?"

"It was you. Even before the forest, you were always a burden. Always eating, always whining and pouting and crying, always being more of a nuisance than a help. It was no different when those wolves attacked us. You were so plump, so tender, had stuffed your face so much that you were irresistible. And so big that you slowed your mother down. She couldn't keep up, trying to save you. And they only spared you because they wanted to save you for later. Until they took pity on you."

"No." Was all Sticks could whimper out. Her grip began to loosen as the old man was slowly lowered back to the floor, her eyes wide and in shock.

"And I knew it. Knew you were the reason why my wife was dead. Knew you deserved to die. So I left you to the fate you deserved." Sticks knelt down to the ground, the old man now standing triumphant. The tables had turned. "Course, doesn't seem like you got your comeuppance. Still, that's easily remedied." He walked over to his gun, picked it up, and aimed it right back at Sticks. Like aiming at a dog. "After all these years, you're finally gonna pay. One more bullet and we can all be together forever. Finally"

* * *

"We can all be together forever. Finally!"

Johnny was standing over a searing pit of molten lava, bubbling and boiling to the point where you wondered why your skin wasn't melting off yet. And yet, it didn't seem to phase him in the least. What did was the figure standing behind him. She was a little girl, dressed in a red and yellow dress and cute as a button. Or at least she would have been if she weren't in a perpetual state of burning. Part of her was a girl, the other part was a charred corpse, and whatever parts were and weren't were constantly switching.

"Didn't you hear me, Johnny?" she said, her voice husky and dry like charcoal. "We can all finally be together! All you have to do is jump into that pit, and we can all be together at last! And you will finally be able to atone. End your suffering. Isn't that you truly want?"

Johnny stared at the pit as though he were looking into his own reflection. Of course, that was impossible, but it was the thought that counted. And speaking of thoughts, he wasn't sure what to think. Not at first. What did he want? Did he want to atone? To let it all end? Was that what he had been seeking all that time? Did he even deserve it? Did he want it? Or perhaps, more importantly, was it what Lily would have wanted?

And that's when it hit him.

"I don't know what I want. Hell, I've never known what I wanted. Even before I lost Lily. I guess I've just been going through trying to figure that out. But I can tell you one thing." Johnny slowly turned around like a simmering pot just waiting to boil over. He glared right at the girl, his eyes almost digging into her soul. "You ain't Lily!"

The girl was silent as the grave. And if she were to be believed, she would have already stepped with both feet into it long ago. But Johnny wasn't having any of it. "I loved Lily. She was my sister. How could I not love her? But she was also a little pain in the hiney. Always going on about every little thing, how she wanted this and that, never once caring about what other people wanted. The point being, Lily would have NEVER asked me what I wanted because she couldn't give two figs about me or anyone else to care! I don't know what you are, but you ain't her. And you ain't real. None of this is."

The girl started to flicker like a mirage, and the room around them began to do the same. The walls were becoming more defined and it seemed easier to walk, not that Johny cared to just now. The girl spoke again, far more desperate than convincing. "Please. I love you, Johnny. The two of us can be together again! Doesn't that mean anything to you?!"

"It does. And maybe if you were her, you might've had somethin'. But here's another thing. Lily may have loved me more than anything else short of herself, but she never said it. Seems to me you don't know how seven-year-old girls really work. And you don't know Lily." The room continued to flicker until, eventually, the girl herself began to fade. And Johnny was finally starting to get a clue. "Well. This is new."

* * *

"Well, this is new!"

"What's wrong?" said Axel.

Lightmare was standing next to Axel, though she wasn't looking at him directly. She had far more important things to be concerned about. "What is wrong is you and this entire plan, but what is even more wrong is that one of the intruders is breaking through!"

Technically speaking, Johnny wasn't 'breaking through' anything. In fact, he was standing perfectly still. All of the Freedom Fighters were, Manic aside. As if they were trapped within themselves for one reason or another. Johnny was the only one who showed any sign of life, his hand and eyes starting to twitch. And that was what worried her.

"Seems to me you don't got what it takes," said Dragonbreath. "I thought your 'bio-luminescence' or whatever it was was supposed to keep people stuck in their own personal demons or nightmares or whatever, and that it was impossible for anyone to break free. And now you're sayin' they can?"

"Not impossible," said Lightmare, "just improbable. Though I would not have had to bother with this if someone had not seen fit to unleash that monstrosity! Speaking of which…"

Lightmare quickly glanced back over to Manic and the creature. Manic was still unaffected by Lightmare's bio-luminescence thanks to his ring, but the beast was completely unphased. It was still bending and shifting and turning within its' hard light prison, stretching and wearing out its' confines to the point where Manic was starting to sweat just out of keeping it in. Suffice to say, he wasn't going to be able to keep this up.

"...he… he… oh, Gaea."

"What's the holdup, Lightmare?"

Lightmare didn't say a word, but she didn't have to. She was too caught up in everything else to see it until now, but it was only now that she was getting a good look at Manic that she finally knew who he was. And she didn't like it one bit.

"Lightmare?"

"Nothing. In any case, Manic isn't going to keep that up much longer. And if I'm lucky, I may be able to contain our furry friend enough so that we can round up the resistance. So are you going to send it back or not?"

"Just one question. How did you know that little green punk's name?"

Lightmare didn't answer. It was the most awkward moment of silence she ever experienced, akin to giving the correct answer after an exam and the teacher figuring out that the only way you one have possibly known was to cheat. Not that she had in this case, but it didn't make her feel any better than she was. "I believe we have more pressing business to attend to, don't you? Now, call that thing off! Or do you want me to turn my particular talents on YOU?"

* * *

"Johnny, don't make me hurt you!" said the girl. "Just accept it! Let it all end! Let it—"

"Shut. Up." With one deft motion, Johnny swung his arm around and aimed his weapon straight at the girl. For whatever reason, this was so much harder than it looked. It was as though his arm had been laying right beside him and he was using every iota of his willpower to aim it not only at the girl but hopefully also at the person he prayed to Gaea was for responsible for this. Somehow he knew he had only one shot, and he was going to have to make it count. The strain grew ever greater within seconds, and it was now or ever. Sweat pouring down his forehead, he forced his thumb down on the correct button, closed his eyes, and let the blast fly.

* * *

"Oh dear—"

Lightmare had seen Johnny struggle against the odds. Seen him raise his arm despite every single factor working him. Seen him pull the trigger and unleash a force to be reckoned with. And yet, in spite of all this, not once did she move. Perhaps she was getting too complacent. Perhaps she felt that no matter what Johnny did, it would all turn out okay in the end. Or perhaps she was too busy arguing with an ignoramus to think it all through.

Regardless, she still wasn't going to just take it. She leaped out of the way of the blast, and just in time. One millisecond later and she would've been decked. Dragonbreath belched out another breath of fire to cancel it at the last minute, if only because the blast would've hit the cylinders right in the center.

In spite of that, that was no longer their biggest concern. Lightmare's concentration had been completely and utterly broken. The balls of bright, shining bio-luminescence quickly started to fade like an after image. And everyone affected by it was starting to move.

"May Gaea preserve us," she said.

"Hey," said Axel, "hurry up over there! They're starting to bust loose!"

"And just what do you wish me to do about it? It took nearly everything I had to create illusions for the five of them! I still have some power, but nothing on that scale!"

"Fine. Then we'll just slaughter them now!"

"Finally!" said Dragonbreath.

"Now hold on," said Lightmare, "let us— look out!"

Another blast had been fired. All three of them leaped out of the way this time, only this time, it was a tad less overpowering. It was more controlled, more precise, and was aimed just left of the cylinder so as not to damage it. And when the three of them opened their eyes, they could see why.

"Miss me?" At last, he was free. Johnny was standing tall and triumphant, his weapon raised at Axel and the others as though he were threatening them with a sawed-off shotgun single-handed, and he had every intention to use it. His eyes were cold and merciless, as though every iota of life had momentarily been drained out of him. And they knew it.

Lightmare was astonished. "He actually did it."

"Damn right I did," said Johnny. "Now, you are gonna do three things. You are gonna use that console over there to send that monster back where it came from. Then you're gonna use it to turn those vibrations off for good. And then you're gonna clear on out of here if you know what's good for you!"

"Oh really?" said Dragonbreath. "You and what army?"

"This one." Without them ever realizing it, Amy had finally managed to get herself back in order. She was standing right beside Johnny and was aiming her laser crossbow right alongside him, and she didn't mean to take a single prisoner.

"Nice to see you up and at 'em, Amy."

"Same here."

"Have any bad dreams?"

Silence.

"Amy?"

"Do you mind if I put a raincheck on that one? Please."

Johnny wasn't quite sure why she'd need one. All he could figure was that something terrible had happened in that dreamscape. Something she didn't particularly want to talk about. And he couldn't blame her. "Suits me fine."

"Good. Anyway, care for some payback?"

"Gladly," said Johnny. And as they were ready to unleash a can of whoop-ass, the other members of their team were starting to follow in Johnny and Amy's footsteps.

Tekno was nearly flapping her arms around as though she were hysteric, but as she started to regain her bearings, this quickly receeded. "Not me, not me, not, that's not, that's not me… it wasn't really. Of course it wasn't. Was not. Was not. Was it?"

Sticks followed soon after. "No, please, I didn't mean to, I mean I didn't do anything, I mean aglets are the source of all evil, I MEAN— huh?" She whirled her head in amazement, as though the very notion that it had all been just a dream was somehow foreign to her. "What was I doing again?"

And of the five them, Shortfuse was the last to start to regain himself. "I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S A DAMN PUPPET! COME OVER HERE! HAVE SOME OF THIS AND THAT AND THAT AND THIS! SERIOUSLY YOU THINK THAT HURT?! THAT DIDN'T HURT! IN FACT, PLEASE SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER— wha?" He looked around the room as he blinked in astonishment. He breathed long and deep, relieved that he was still him. And brimming with sheer ferocity at whoever had made him think otherwise.

Axel was near starting to stumble. All of his best-laid plans were falling apart, and he didn't have any real excuses as to why. All he knew was if he didn't do something NOW, they'd all be toast. And then, like turning on a lightbulb, inspiration struck.

"So, you want some payback? Fine. Let me just take care of this first."

He pressed the button on the control panel that released the creature. It flashed out of sight quickly as it appeared, leaving Manic's ring holding nothing but a whole lot of air. He dropped his shielding, seeing as there wasn't an immediate need for it. "Oh. Wasn't expecting that. Not that I'm complaining."

"Thank Gaea," said Lightmare. "Have you finally seen reason?"

"Sort of," said Axel. He then slammed down once more on the button, and the creature crackled back to life in an instant.

"OH HELL!" Manic tried to raise his shielding back up, but it wasn't enough. The creature knocked him to the ground with one deft sucker punch before setting his sights on everything else he could see. It roared like a mighty monster, intent on frying all it came across.

"MANIC!" said Johnny.

"Are you mad?!" said Lightmare to Axel.

"Honestly, she's got a point!" said Amy. "Just what are you trying to accomplish?!"

"Taking care of one less pest," said Axel. "And now that that's done…" He slammed down on the button one final time. The beast let out one last mighty roar and at last winked into oblivion. Like a bad dream.

"There we are. That's one of the big ones out of the picture. And as far as I can see, you're still the only two who've fully snapped out of it. Everyone else is still too dazed to do much of anything else but stand there and look pretty. Guess who's outnumbered now?"

Just then, a loud and angry voice like a raging inferno shouted out to prove them wrong. "COME HERE YA LILLY LIVERED ASSHOLES!" Dragonbreath turned in the voice's general direction just in time to be rushed down by an utterly livid Shortfuse, like being tackled like a train.

"Guess it's three on three," said Johnny. "Amy, you take Lightmare. I want her more than anything, but I'm the only one who can take Axel right now. So I guess he'll just have to do."

"Got it," she said. She then started to run like hell to gain some distance, and Lightmare followed suit.

Lightmare briefly turned to Axel and gave him the evil eye, or at least as much as she could with that mask on. "If we somehow survive this, I am completely and utterly blaming this on you!" She turned back to Amy and took after her like a light.

With Shortfuse taking care of Dragonbreath, Manic down for the count, and Tekno and Sticks still coming to their senses, that only left Johnny and Axel. And none of them seemed too pleased.

"You really want to do this?" said Axel.

"I ain't got a choice, do I?" said Johnny. "Sides, I just had a hell of a bad time. And you're as good an outlet as any."

"Fine by me," said Axel. "Let's get this show on the road."

"Let's."


	40. Remembrance, Part 6

"For the love of-?!"

Shortfuse was busy stumbling back up after being blasted into the nearest wall. An actual, physical wall this time. It had been going so well. He'd managed to regain his sanity and tackle one of the sons of bitches who was responsible for this mess and was about to punch the robotic daylights out of him. And then the a-hole managed to get in a lucky judo toss. For his part, Dragonbreath was standing triumphantly like a hunter from the Bronze Age, proud and tall after having caught his meat.

"How'd ya like that?" he said. "Didn't even need to use my fire! Though I can still warm things up a notch if ya want. Interested?"

As Shortfuse struggled to get back on his feet, he only had one thing to say.

"Please, sir, may I have another?!" He blasted over to Dragonbreath, eager to smash that Gaea damned robot's face in.

"Ya like that?!" He said. "Well, here's more!" He belched out out another blazing blast from his mouth, but Shortfuse plowed right through it like a monster truck. And within seconds, he was practically up close and personal. He then grabbed Dragonbreath's arm and gave it a good, firm yank ("Come to papa!"), wrenching it straight off of his body and leaving nothing but a lump of mangled cords and broken circuts.

Despite everything telling him he should have done otherwise, Dragonbreath did not scream in pain. This was probably because he literally could not feel pain. He could have imagined himself being in pain, imagine what it must feel like to have an entire arm wrenched off, but it wasn't the same thing. What it didn't stop him from feeling was complete and utter shock at his whole arm being torn away in a single instant. So much so he couldn't say a word.

"Who's laughing now, Arm Fall Off Boy?" Shortfuse then used Dragonbreath's arm like a club, whacking him as though making a home run and sending him flying to the other end of the room. He then hurled it like a javelin straight into his cybernetic cranium and impaled him straight in the noggin. He began to short circuit, flailing about at such rapid speeds that one could swear he was having a conniption. And then, without any warning, he came to a complete and sudden stop. Total shutdown.

"Heh. Good thing you were a robot. If you weren't, I'd get chewed out till doomsday." Though in truth, he hoped that Eggman and his cronies would be able to rebuild him. Sooner than later. If only so he'd have another punching bag.

* * *

"You know, I hate to ask, but could you quit it with the light show for just a minute, seriously?!"

Amy was trying to keep some distance between her and her pursuer. The upside was that with her laser crossbow, she more or less had an infinite amount of ammo and so could fire as many bolts at Lightmare as she wished. The downside was that Lightmare had a similar advantage. Only in her case, she was able to fire off balls of searing energy that would wreck Amy if she ever got hit. A backup ability in case her nightmare-inducing powers failed her, she supposed.

Amy kept on running and gunning, dodging the whispy, floating balls by the skin of her teeth. None of her arrows were able to land so much as a single hit. Either Lightmare moved one of the balls right in front of the arrows or she dodged them wholesale. It was a back and forth game of dodging and shooting on both of the girls' parts, and they would have been lying if they said they weren't in any way starting to feel a bit ragged.

Amy was desperate to stall for time. Having a moment of serendipity, she stopped right in front of the empty corridor and began to play the part of the distressed damsel to the best of her ability.

"Okay, look. You've got me. Nowhere to run. So why don't you just get it over with? Isn't that you wanted anyway?"

Lightmare scoffed. "Is that what you take me for? Believe it or not, I don't wish to kill you. In fact, I don't even wish to be here."

Amy blinked and rubbed her eyes, as though she couldn't quite believe her ears. "Say that again?"

"I wanted to be a Priest. That is what I truly wanted above all else. But instead, I am here. Trying to endanger lives instead of saving them. And having to deal with complete and utter morons to boot." She briefly glanced behind her, indicating Axel and doing so with nothing but contempt.

"Then why aren't you doing that?" said Amy. "I mean, Eggman goes against everything every Gaea-fearing Mobian beliefs in, as far as I understand it. You know that, right?"

Lightmare briefly looked towards the ground, as if she couldn't bear to see another living soul. "If it were just me, I wouldn't want anything to do with him! He's an abomination, an unholy heretic! I'd gut him myself if I could!"

"Then why are you working for him?" Amy said. "How come you're trying to help him blow up a whole large chunk of the island?!"

Lightmare clenched her fist, as though she were near attempting to strangle someone. "I'm not working for HIM! I'm working for my father. This is merely a loan."

"A loan?"

"The point is, it isn't so simple. I owe my father. More than you know. And so, this is something I must do! Even if it pains me to do it. Don't you have something you believe in? Something worth fighting for?"

Amy took a moment. Did she have something worth fighting for? Why was she here anyway? Was she really doing all this just for a chance to be with someone who might not feel the same way? That couldn't have been it, can it? So why was she here?

"I don't know," said Amy. "But I do know that I'm here. And that as long as I'm here, I'm going to do all I can to help. Speaking of which…"

Like a quickdraw, Amy let one of her arrows fly. It caught Lightmare off guard, enough so that for a solid split second, she didn't know what to do. And that was all she needed. While Lightmare was ducking the arrow, Amy was dashing straight over and in seconds made it.

Having closed the gap, it was time for Amy to do what she knew best: Be as forceful and annoying as all get out! Being no damsel, she knew how to take care of herself. 'Any girl needs to know a little self-defense', her father said. Though this was far more than a little.

Amy let loose a punch, then a kick. Then an elbow smash. Then a toe stomp. And that was just the start. Having little time to form her guard, Lightmare did her best to block, but the sheer ferocity of Amy's attacks was INSANE for someone without super speed. Or any powers to speak of. There was something to be said for the art of self-reliance.

That said, Lightmare still had a duty to perform. Managing to gather her wits, she summoned another ball of hard light and aimed it straight at Amy's noggin. Only to see it blink in and out of existence after being sliced in half like paper.

"The wind? But that could only mean—"

Lightmare was lifted straight into the air by a current of seldom seen proportions as a deft hand raised two close fingers upward with a flick. Within seconds, she was so high up that if she were the joking sort, she would say she could see her house from there. However, seeing as this was not the case, all she could wonder was if her loyalty to her father was worth it.

Within seconds, that same deft hand did the same as before, only this time lowering her fingers down and out. Another gust formed, blasting Lightmare down to the hard, cold, metal floor below and making a very shapely imprint in the process. She groaned as though she were nearly knocked unconscious and struggling to stay up, but she soon learned that perhaps it would've been best if she had been rendered unconscious to begin with. Amy lept over to Lightmare's noggin and tapped it with the brunt of her laser crossbow. The result was just light enough to keep it from causing any brain damage and just hard enough to finish the job and send Lightmare into la la land.

"See how she likes it," said Amy. She then looked towards her savior. Standing a few feet to the left was none other than Tekno. She was still slightly out of it, but she was recovered enough that sending out a couple of currents was still nothing to her. "Thanks, Tek'. You okay?"

"Managing." A hand was placed on her forehead as if to hold in the pain. "You?"

Amy's smile flipped upside down in the time it took to blink. "Fine. Fine. It's fine. I've just got some things to think about. That's all."

"Saw something, didn't you?"

"Yeah. You too, huh?"

"All of us probably did. Either way, now not time. Later."

"Yeah. Sides, Johnny's still fighting Axel. And then there's the vibrations." As if she had spoken of the devil, a small tremor started to rumble throughout the base. It wasn't quite on the same level as those outside, but it was there.

"Can finally feel it!" said Tekno. "And if we feeling it here…"

"…then who knows how bad it is out there," said Amy.

"Must finish this fast."

"Agreed."

* * *

"I'm not going down so easy this time!" Leaping away from the control panel, Axel thrust his right arm out at Johnny. It quickly whirred and turned like a well-oiled machine, transforming into a top of the line laser machine gun. "Right. Let's see what you've got." He let loose a rapid barrage of small energy pellets. Each of them was incidental on their own, but a hail of them at such rapid speed was another deal entirely.

Johnny pressed a button on his weapon and let loose his force-field. The bullets dissipated against it into the ether, the shield too strong for them to stand against it. With those bullets flying, there wasn't much of a chance for Johnny to use his weapon. Not that he had to. He pressed another and, with the shied still on, he hovered in the air and barreled straight towards Axel like a jet. Axel tried to stop the rain of bullets, but it was too late. The forcefield rammed into Axel like a truck, sending him crashing into the nearest wall. If he hadn't moved to the side before firing that barrage, it would've been the cylinder he'd been bashed into.

Johnny switched off the forcefield and jetted back over to Axel. Whether he was confident or suicidal, Axel wasn't sure. Either way, he was ready for him this time. He readied himself, stood his ground, and held out his two hands as if waiting for him to make a move. As soon as he struck, he'd be ready to catch that weapon of his two-handed and turn the tables. And if it were anyone but Johnny, it might have worked.

Except no-one else was Johnny. And Johnny had different plans. As soon as he was just short of Axel's grip, he flew straight backward while still directly facing front and landed. As soon as he did, he fired a powerful energy blast of his own, just short of its' full devastating might. At that distance, a full blast would've killed him. Instead, at this level power, Axel would've merely been sent packing and the day would've been saved, with much rejoicing.

But there was one thing Johnny didn't know about Axel. Which at that moment was particularly pertinent. He had gotten himself one hell of an upgrade.

"That all you got?!" Axel nearly pounded his chest before rushing for Johnny. Johnny turned his force-field back on just in time for Axel to come rushing in, but he had to wonder if it was enough. Axel was pounding on his forcefield like bludgeoning something with a sledgehammer, and as each blow was let loose, Johnny could feel his forcefield weakening just a tich. If he didn't do something soon, he was a goner.

And yet, it would seem that he might have had to bear with it a moment longer. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the last member of their little group to recover from the dreams: Sticks. In a rare act of sanity, she was keeping any and all noise to a minimum and was tiptoeing her way to the control console, albeit crawling like a cat while doing it and smiling like the dickens. Seeing as how Sticks had absolutely no grasp on how technology worked other than that it was cool, she was the worst possible choice to shut down the cylinder. But in case Johnny failed, she was still decent enough as a backup.

Johnny knew he'd have to stall while also keeping Axel's gaze off of the console. All Johnny had to do was pay attention to his blows, figure out which one was the slowest and hardest to recover from, and exploit it to hell and back. It was like watching a recording, observing every minuscule detail measure for measure and using it to one's advantage. Which Johnny did.

In a moment of weakness on Axel's part, Johnny saw his chance. Just as a double-fisted bulldozer of a hit was about to come slamming down, Johnny barreled over to the right. Axel's fists hit the metaphorical dirt, but as the dust fell, Johnny had himself another breakthrough. Right then and there, Axel was defenseless, and Johnny wasn't about to let another lucky break slide by. He flew right atop Axel, landed right on his head, and placed the top of his weapon over Axel's large gaping mouth. "What the-?!"

Johnny wouldn't try this one on anyone else, but seeing as Axel was now a heavy-duty cyborg, he was sure he could take the easy way out. He pressed a finger on his weapon and let loose a blast of energy that went down Axel's throat and filled his entire body like a shockwave. Every single nerve of his body was filled with a single instant of sheer, shrieking pain before going numb. Axel was a tough cookie, but this was something else. He fell to his knees, his eyes blank and smoke fuming from his mouth. And then he crashed to the floor.

"The bigger they are, the harder they fall." Johnny had no time to waste. He rushed to the control console. Now that Sticks was no longer needed as a backup plan, he had to keep her from doing something completely and utterly stupid. Sure enough, she was just about to set the cylinders to self-destruct status entirely by accident. Not that Johnny knew this, but it wouldn't have surprised him if he did.

"Gimme that!" Johnny nudged Sticks aside and then proceeded to try and shut down the cylinders himself. The problem was twofold. Not only was he not the most adaptable to tech, but he could also feel the vibrations rearing their ugly head. If he didn't do something soon, they were all goners. The question was, what?

"Uh, Johnny?" said Sticks. "Is your stomach grumbling?"

"No, it ain't. Why?"

"Cause I'm sure I heard somethin' grumbling. In fact, I think it came from…" She turned around and pointed her finger at Ahem Akbhar, still lying down on the ground as though he were dead. That is to say, he had been. Only now, that wasn't exactly the case. It was subtle and faint, but if one listened carefully, they could hear a low moan of pain and disgrace, like losing a poker game. And it was coming from none other than Ahem. Throw in a couple of twitching fingers and it was clear he was finally starting to come out of it.

Sticks gasped as if a vast array of horrors had just been unleashed. "Do ya know what this means?! It means that that Gaea has spoken! This Mobian's gotta be castrated and skinned alive and roasted over an open fire before sundown or else we're gonna be turned into mole men! No-one here actually likes mole-men, right?"

"Don't remind me." Johnny aimed his weapon at Ahem as he came to, making sure he had him exactly where he wanted hin. And all the while, those vibrations kept getting louder and louder.

"Wha— Gadzooks!" The first thing Ahem noticed was a large weapon staring him in the face, as though it were about to vaporize him.

"Mornin'," said Johnny. "Now, I think you might be wondering what I've got here. This little doodad will bring down just about anything with a click of a button. One little poof and it'll send you a big whoppin' blast that'll send you flying to kingdom come. I know you SAID that you wouldn't mind getting blown to bits, but let's see if that holds true." He was bluffing of course, but what Ahem didn't know wouldn't kill him. Or them. He hoped.

Ahem started to sweat like a piggy, though it didn't seem to be out of fear for his own life. Not entirely. "Do you really think you can fool me? You're bluffing."

Johnny blasted a spot just to the right of Ahem, who flinched like a child out of habit. "Try me. And just so you know, I'm in a REALLY bad mood." That much was true. "So let get's right to the point. You want to help me shut this thing down or not? Cause if not…" His finger edged closer to the button, moving up and down as if Johnny couldn't decide whether or not to fire. Or at least that's the appearance he gave.

"Alright, ALRIGHT! It's true that I don't mind dying a glorious death, not as long I take this whole blasted planet out with me. But this is far from glorious. I suppose I'll have to settle for a black hole or some such. I'm sure I can whip something up."

"Just help me shut this thing down. Also, you try and summon up that Plasmus monster or whatever it is and you're a dead man."

"Plasmus? Believe it or not, I wouldn't even try. I don't know how you know of it but, well, let us say it was an early mistake. Plamus is uncontrollable. That button is the only thing that keeps him in check. If I let it out again, it may very well kill me, and that is NOT how I want to go out."

"Are we gonna do somethin' already?" said Sticks. "Cause honestly, I'm startin' to get bored. Sticks doesn't like being bored. Cause when she gets bored, she starts eating sticks. Actual sticks. From trees. Don't know how I'm still alive, to be honest."

"Tell me," said Ahem, "was she dropped on the head a child? I"m legitimately curious."

Johnny's finger again neared the button. "Turning the machine off. If you please."

"Right. It's quite simple. You see that small red button next to Plasmus' labeled 'T.O?'

"Yeah?"

"That means 'TURN OFF.' Self-explanatory, isn' it?"

"How do we know you didn't just tell me what button to press to blow us all to kingdom come?"

"You don't, do you? But even more than that, I am a man of my word. At least while I'm still around, I might as well have SOMETHING to live by."

"Noble sentiments." The sarcasm dripped from Johnny's tongue like cyanide. Nevertheless, he didn't have much time to waste. The vibrations were getting stronger and stronger. If he so much as wasted a single second—

"LET'S DO IT TO IT!" He raised his pointer finger high into the air and slammed it down on the button like bringing down a hammer. The button glowed a bright red and let out a single shrill beep that nearly burst everyone's eardrums to shreds. Almost, but not quite.

"Wowza!" said Sticks. "I think my brain nearly turned to guacamole. Literally! Wonder if my brain's tasty…"

By this point, the others had finished their opponents' off, and Manic had just begun to return to consciousness. "Oy. Hey, what did I miss?" Just then, right as the vibrations seemed to reach their apex before crossing into unstoppable territory, something miraculous happened: They stopped. Completely. They all stared at the cylinders. Sure enough, they had come to a halt. They stood still like tall, imposing monolithic statues, but as of now, that was all they were.

Amy breathed a sigh of relief, but Tekno held up a finger as if to give her a reality check. "This is not over just yet. Trust me on this." She then offered to give Amy a lift which she humbly accepted. With a current of wind behind her, they all flew over to Johnny and Amy, with Shortfuse and Manic landing shortly after.

"Looks like the gang's all here," said Johnny. "Everyone okay?"

"Yes," said Tekno. "Though the whole experience was most… disorienting."

"I'm fine," said Amy. "Me and Tekno managed to take care of Lightmare. It wasn't easy though."

"Speak for yourself," said Shortfuse. "That bot or whatever went down like nobody's business. You'd think he'd make them a bit tougher, just sayin'."

"As for me, I guess I'm okay," said Manic. "Think my hair's still a bit frizzy though. That's when happens a big-ass monster goes and zaps you."

"Good," said Johnny. "Me and Sticks are fine too. More or less. So that just leaves one thing unaccounted for." Johnny whirled around towards the console. Several feet away was Ahem Alcubus, doing his best to tiptoe his way to the console and start everything up as though none of this had ever happened. He pointed his weapon right at the little scientist, and everyone else did the same. He had already heard him creeping up behind but knew he'd have more than enough time to deal with him. And so now, he dealt with him. "Again. Not in the mood."

"Uh, ah, ahem. Olly olly oxen free?"

"Oh, pipe down!" Sticks promptly leaped into the air like a wild barbarian and delivered a swift kick right into Ahem's jaw before delivering an even swifter one straight to the balls upon landing. Needless to say, he didn't say much after than that. He slowly collapsed to the floor, all while holding his groin in a desperate and futile attempt to ease the pain.

"So what do we do now?" said Manic. "Sure, we may have saved the village and a whole chunk of the island, but as long as this place is up and running, they can just do it again."

"If nothing else," said Tekno, "I should be able to deactivate the console. I may also be able to sufficiently meddle with its' inner workings so as to render any future attempts to use or reactivate it ill-advised. At the very least, it will be that much harder for them to use it."

"On top of that," said Amy, "now that we know it's here, we might be able to work something out with Harvey. Get someone to monitor it twenty-four/seven. As long as we keep an eye on it, it shouldn't be a problem."

"So you say," said Shortfuse. "Either way, it still leaves us with one problem; what we do with the peanut gallery?"

Everyone looked around the room. Lightmare was still unconscious. Axel was exhaling fumes. Dragonbreath was a mess. And Ahem had just gone down for the count.

"I do not think we'll have to worry about Dragonbreath," said Tekno. "Although," she said to Shortfuse, "I am not sure you truly had to go that far."

"He's a robot," said Shortfuse. "Sides, they can always rebuild him later."

"I suppose," said Tekno. "Still, sentient life is sentient life. Or at least it is to me."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyway, the scrapheap's down, but what about the others? What are we supposed to do with them? I mean, there's always the obvious solution, but something tells me most everyone doesn't wanna go that far."

"Well, I don't think we'll be able to hold the big one over there." Amy looked at Axel, taking both his girth and his 'enhancements' into account. "From what I've seen of the brig, I think it can hold anyone around normal size and with decent firepower, but I don't know if he fits the bill. And if he gets out, he'd be able to tell Eggman where we all are easy-peasy."

She took a look at Lightmare and made sure there wasn't so much as a twitch. "As for Lightmare, we might be able to toss her in, but I don't know if we'll be able to stop her from using her powers. She might be able to send us all into la la land at a moment's notice. Unless we could find a way to neutralize her, she'd be more of a liability than anything else. But as for the doctor…"

Speaking of the good doctor, Ahem Alcubus had just started to awaken from his enforced slumber. (Again.) Everyone slowly turned their heads towards him as though they were one giant hive mind on the same page. "Hey, what are you all looking at me for?"

Manic promptly aimed his ring at Ahem, encasing him in a solid, floating green bubble that was impossible for someone with his meager strength to break out of. "Hey! What do you believe you're doing?! HOW are you doing it?! This is an outrage!"

"Yeah, he'll be fine," said Johnny. "We'll still have to keep an eye on him, but I think he's something we can handle."

"Same," said Amy.

"Agreed," said Tekno. "I do not believe he will be able to cause any real harm nor make any sort of escape in the slightest. As long as we make sure there isn't any sort of tracking device installed on him, there should not be an issue. And there is a potential wealth of information we could retrieve from him."

"My thoughts exactly," said Amy.

"Same here," said Johnny. "So I guess all that's left is for Tekno to rewire that console and then we're gone."

"Already?" said Sticks. "But I wanted to see the mountain golly-wolly gobstoppers from hell! Standing butt naked in the Hilltop zone while doing the polka is the only to see them!"

Shortfuse's eyes began to glow brighter than ever as though they were about to set someone on fire. "WE. ARE. LEAVING. NOW."

"Alright," said Johnny. "Let's just make sure everyone's prepared and then we're out of here. After Tekno's done with the console anyway." With that said, Manic began ensuring his bubble around Ahem was escape-proof while Sticks made sure was in tip-top condition. As for Shortfuse, he was content to stand in the corner like a shadow while Tekno opened up a toolbox next to the console and got to work. And that just left Johnny and Amy.

"So," said Johnny. "Hell of a day, wasn't it?"

"I guess," said Amy. Actually, it kind of was. I think I might've learned some things about myself that I'm almost scared to admit."

"I've had a lot of things I've been scared to admit," said Johnny. "Even after all this time thinking about Lily, I'm still not sure what she would've wanted. Not that she'd ever ask me. And I'm not sure what I want. It's only now that I'm bothering to really think about any of this."

"Yeah," said Amy. "Still, at least you don't seem to blame yourself anymore."

"Maybe. I might not be sure about what Lily wanted, but I think I know what she wouldn't want. And she wouldn't want me to be mopin'. I'm not sure where I'm gonna go from here on out, but at the very least, I'm gonna try and find it. That's all I can do."

"Same," said Amy. "I thought I knew what I wanted. I really did. But now I'm starting to wonder if I only thought I knew what I want. That's something I'm going to have to figure out."

"Guess that gives us somethin' in common. And speakin' of things in common, you really kept it together today. Kept a cool head. Thought of things even I wasn't thinkin' of. Which just makes me even more sure of it."

Amy blinked. "Sure of what."

"Well, when Sally was tellin' me bout our mission, she also said somethin' else. Said she was thinking of appointing some field leaders. I can't say she doesn't have a point. And she said I was her first pick."

Amy wasn't sure why Johnny was saying this to her, but she still did her best not to give the impression she was completely and utterly clueless. "Uh, well, that's great! Fantastic! Super!"

"And she also asked me to recommend someone who I thought would be a good fit for the second slot. I couldn't answer her then, but now I think I've found just the one."

"Uh, good! That's good. But—"

"You're it."

Amy stood still. So still that one could wonder if she had somehow frozen in place and become a statue. She stood in that exact pose for what seemed like forever, as though you could pinch her peek and she'd have that same smiling if somewhat befuddled expression on her face. Until at long last, she spoke.

"Come again?"


	41. A Day in the Life of Cream

**October 15th, 2017 MC**

 _In the blue Danube, I speak to you_

 _In the blue Danube, your heart rings true_

 _In the blue Danube, your oh this isn't gonna work!_

Hi there! This is Cream, and this is another entry in my diary! Honestly, I'm amazed at how many entries there've been. Of course, it's not as if there's that much to do out here. I can still try and write poetry or go outdoors for a midday stroll, but I could do most of that in my old home.

…Home. I'm not really sure where home is anymore. Not after what happened back in what used to be my home. I used to love home so much. The green fields, the skies as blue as sapphire! Sitting with Cheese underneath a beautiful sunset! I suppose I could do all of that here, but would it be the same? Or would some unforeseen element, whatever made it truly special, be lost? I don't know the answer to that, but I'm not sure I wish to discover it. Then again, there are some things I'm not sure I wish to discover.

Perhaps I should change the subject for a moment. Things have been moving rather quickly since Johnny and the others returned from the Hilltop Zone. In a bid to establish further organization, both Johnny and Amy have been made field leaders. From what I can tell, Johnny was a shoe-in, but giving Amy such a vital position turned more than a few heads. Perhaps he saw something up in the Hilltop Zone that we didn't? Who's to say?

Additionally, Sticks has also become a Freedom Fighter. One has to wonder how she even pulled it off. I suppose anyone can do anything with enough drive and conviction, but she always seemed to me to have a few screws loose. Then again, I still do not know her very well, so perhaps I am too quick to judge. That said, her reason for joining appears to have something to do with finding her 'dear dumb deadbeat dead who deserves to be dropped into a dingy, dank dungeon and be devoured by hyenas'. I would not put such a thing so horribly or be so unforgiving, especially seeing as her father may have reasons for what he did. I do not know if they're good reasons, but they're reasons nonetheless. She should at least hear him out before making any judgments! That is what I know I would do with my dad if I ever found him.

My dad. If only he were here. It has been somewhat lonely growing up without a father. There is my mother, and I am glad she is still with me, but she can be distant. Or at least could be. She still cared for me, still loved me, but I never felt I could get close. It was as though she were putting up some sort of barrier that I could never break past, no matter how much I wanted to.

Only now, that barrier seems to be coming down of its' own accord. Even since I became what I've become, my mother seems has been more and more personal. She's more willing to show her affection, more open to saying what she truly thinks. She's just THERE. More than she used to be. And all I can wonder is why. What changed between then and now? Does it have something to do with what happened back in the village? Does it have something to do with how I killed him I killed him I KILLED HIM-

Does it have something to do with that, I wonder? Either way, I probably should not complain. My mother being open cannot be anything but a good thing. Or at least that is what I keep telling myself. But sometimes I cannot help but wonder if perhaps her reasoning for that kind of attitude shift is me. Is she trying to make me feel better? Comfort me? Except when I look at her, I know that isn't the case. Not entirely. So what could it be? Or at least that is what I thought.

In any case, it was time to cease thinking about things I could do nothing about. Or at least that is what I kept telling myself. Instead, I decided it was time to check on my friends! With Cheese tailing right behind me, I spread my ears, flapped them as high as I could, and soared as high into the air under the rays of the morning sun as I could! Of course, I couldn't go above the trees without someone potentially spotting us, but there was still ample room to move in Knothole as long as you followed the path.

I looked down at the ground below searching for Amy and Big. Apparently, they had been shanghaied into being part of the Oracles of Delphi, so I was heading for the concert hall on the edge of the forest. As I flew towards it, I couldn't help but occasionally glance back at Cheese. Cheese had been my best friend since as far back as I could remember. It was as if we were always meant to be together.

And yet, given what had occurred within the last few weeks, I was no longer so sure. Or rather, I supposed I was surer than ever. Now, we had no choice but to be together. If I ever strayed too far away from Cheese, there was a fair possibility that I would begin to perish. Before, we thought we would always be together because we were the best of friends. But now? Now, it is because we don't have a choice. And it is because of him that I…

I spotted the concert hall. It was not very well put together, consisting mostly of a series of stumps for seats and a most rudimentary stage. But it was the thought that counted. In any case, the entire band was there. Mina, Amy, and Big were getting ready to rehearse. Sonia and Manic were not present, though I was sure they would be there shortly. Regardless, I figured I would drop in and pay my friends a visit. Surely there would not be any harm in that!

I lowered myself to the ground and Cheese did the same. "Hello, everyone!"

Everyone seemed somewhat surprised as they turned around to see me, though they quickly warmed up as soon as they did. Mother did say I had that effect on people. "Oh, hey, Cream!" said Amy.

"Oh, uh, how you doing, Cream?" said Mina. "Wasn't expecting you just now. But that's okay I guess."

"How ya doin', kiddo?" said Big. "Haven't seen ya in a while."

I pushed my two pointer fingers together as if I were pressing my brain cells against one another for something to say. "Well, let us just say I had other things on my mind. As it were." At that moment, everyone flashed back to that day at the village. I could tell from their eyes. Whether or not it was simple intuition or something more, I could not say.

"Uh, yeah," said Mina, "I can sorta see why I guess. It wasn't exactly a cakewalk for you, was it?" She was so nervous she began oh so slightly to vibrate, as though she wished she could have been anywhere but there.

"No," I said. "No, it wasn't." I was doing my best to block it out. To block blood BLOOD block out those horrible images as best I could. But I was not sure it would be enough.

"Hey, kiddo," said Big, "don't beat yourself up about it. You did what you had to—"

I quickly changed the subject. "So, Miss Amy. You and Mister Big, musicians! How exactly did that happen?"

"Well," said Mina, "we still needed a couple musicians for our show, so I asked anyone with even a passing interest to come and help out a bit.

"I played some flute back in school," said Amy, blowing on a white porcelain flute and failing miserably.

"I sometimes bust out my ukulele," said Big, ukulele on hand. "Though I'm not sure if that's going to cut it."

Mina tried her best to not to show her embarrassment, though she didn't always do the best job of that. "Uh, well, don't worry, that's fine! As long as you can play something, I guess. Maybe we can even give you a crash course. Though we've still got to come up with an opening act."

"You still don't have one?" said Amy. "You, Sonia, and Manic have been together for a while now, right? You'd think you've already have something whipped up."

Mina looked away as she scratched the back of her head, as though there were something she was reluctant to share. In their favor, they were right. Should she not have already had something to go by now? And yet, as I would soon learn, things were just slightly more complicated than that.

"It's not so simple. For one thing, we didn't have the time to grab all the old gear and sheet music when taking off from Mobotropolis. It's taken us this long to get new instruments, and now that we have them, we'd need to start rewriting the sheets if we wanted to use the same old songs, you know? To be fair, we know a lot of them by heart, but there's some of them where it would really help to have those sheets."

"Makes sense," said Big. "That said, if you still know plenty of songs, why are ya so desperate to have a new opening act?"

"Well, I guess it's because I just want to do something special, you know? Now that we've got the chance, I want to do something that really speaks to all of us. We're all stuck out here in Knothole, fighting for our lives and everyone else's with all we've got. Like each day could be our last. And some of us have already taken some losses. So I want something that really says something about that, you know?"

Amy and Big were in awe. "Wow," said Amy. "You've really thought about this, huh?"

"Uh, well, sorta? I mean, sometimes when I'm thinking of a new song, I spend more time thinking about what the song's about instead of writing the actual song, which is something I've been working on but—"

"It's okay, kiddo,' said Big. "No problem with givin' things some thought. Gaea knows we could use some more of that."

"He's right, you know," said Amy.

"If you say so," said Mina. "Thanks. Though that doesn't change that I haven't been able to put pen to paper. Which is a problem. We need an opening act and we need it soon. I guess I'm just gonna have to hope I come up with something and pray for the best."

As I listened, I couldn't help but feel sorry for them. Here they were trying to write a song and cheer everyone up and they just couldn't quite push through. I knew that I could not abandon them in their hour of need. After all, when someone is in trouble, the only thing that you can do is step in and THEY ABANDONED ME

Ahem. The only thing that you can do is step in and help them out! That's the only correct course of action. Full of resolve, I stepped forward, determined as could be to do what I could. And what I could do was write.

"Uh, excuse me, ?" I raised my hand into the air, hoping that she would notice me. In fact, she did.

"Yeah, Cream?"

"Uh, I think I may be able to assist you with your song."

"Really?" Mina took a good look at Cream as if sizing her up. "Uh, well, you mean well, but you're kinda young for this sorta thing."

It was then that my friends rose to my aid, as I would for theirs. As everyone should for everyone. "Actually," said Amy, "Cream isn't that bad. She's been writing lyrics and poetry all her life, and she's actually done some half-decent stuff."

"Same thing," said Big. "If she wanted to make a career out of it, she'd really be somethin'."

I couldn't help but blush. "You didn't have to say that. I really do appreciate it, but-"

"No, really!" said Amy. "Do you know hard good lyricists are to find out in the boonies?"

"What she said,' said Big. "Seriously, your stuff can be a bit rough at times, but it's still neat. With a bit of polish, it'd really be somethin' special."

"Hey, why don't you show her one of your old songs, Cream?"

I almost wasn't sure if she was serious. It took me a moment before I realized she was, and my smile promptly turned upside down. "Uh, oh, I couldn't! I mean, I do not wish to be rude, but it is only something I do in my spare time, that's all! Truly! It wouldn't be anything worth performing in a concert, I assure you!"

"Hey, Cream," said Mina, "it's okay. If you're nervous, well, I get nervous too. I might even be nervous now and I don't know why, but that's just how it is. But I'd still really like to hear your song."

By this point, my eyes were closed and my fists were clenched, but as I slowly opened the former, I could see that Mina was smiling. As though she meant everything she said. She was truly a kind and considerate woman. And I could be no less.

"Alright," I said. "Here goes." I coughed into my fist to ready my voice, but the real challenge was yet to come. Nevertheless, Amy was counting on me. Mina was counting on me! In that moment, I could not let them down. I closed my eyes and called upon something deep within myself, and like a Goddess of Rock (which SO contrasts with how I usually am, I know,), I began.

 _Everything's fine, everything's good, that's what you tell yourself. Everything's great, everything's grand, that's what you tell yourself. But you know better. Because it's anything but._

 _Why can't you be honest with yourself? Why can't you be true to yourself? And you're up all night trying to wonder why. Why can't you be real with yourself? Why can't you be straight with yourself? And then it hits you like a slab of bricks and you know the answer: Cause you really don't know yourself at all._

I stopped. At first, I wondered why. Why had I stopped? Why wasn't I continuing with the song?

And then it hit me as though a train were running me over. A single, slow tear began to dribble down my cheek like a creek. As though it were barely running, but not for lack of trying. As though there were something dormant, struggling to get out, and I was only keeping it locked in.

But that couldn't have been, I thought. I was fine, was I not? In fact had nearly blocked out those terrible events altogether! I had at last started to get over it. Or at least that was what I thought. And then I wondered if perhaps I had thought correctly. If I was being real with myself. Straight with myself. And if I had truly known myself at all.

"Hey, kiddo?" I was almost in some sort of trance when Big called out to me. With his deep, booming voice, it wasn't hard to snap out of whatever I was in. "Oh! Sorry. I am sorry about that—"

"No, don't be!" said Mina. For whatever reason, she was ecstatic, as though it were one of the best days of her life. "That was great! There was something, I don't know, honest about it! I mean, given what it was about, that's kind of ironic, I know, but still! Like there was something more than we could hear! Something deep. Something painful."

"Uh, yeah," said Cream. "I guess."

"Speaking of which. Cream, if you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. But if you ever do—"

"IT'S FINE!" I am honestly embarrassed about that one. I am usually so prim and proper, or at least outside of my singing, but in that one moment, I forgoed my inhibitions and (I hope I am using this word correctly,) 'snapped.' Apparently, I also stomped the ground below me in the process. If you were to look, you could still see the imprint. I am so ashamed. Mina, Amy, and Big were all staring at me wild-eyed as if I were some sort of crazy person, and while I'm starting to know better now, I can not blame them for thinking that then.

"Hey, Cream!" said Amy. "It's okay! It's okay. There's nothing to be worried about, alright? Okay?"

"Hey!" said Big to Amy. "Don't patronize her. All you're doin' is making things worse." He then turned towards me. "You wanna stomp around, kiddo? That's fine. But you'd best be askin' yourself if you really wanna do that." He pointed down. And that's when I saw the imprint. And that's when I ran.

Actually, I suppose 'flew' would be the more appropriate word. I flew up into the air, desperate to get away. Because I couldn't bear to be there anymore. Not after that. Everyone was calling me, desperate to get me to come back. I couldn't. I needed to be alone. Or at least that is what I thought.

My eyes misty, I barreled through the trees and branches, not sure where I was going and not caring a whit.

That would be a mistake. Before I knew it, I found myself nearly ramming smackdab into a pair of extended, purple metal legs. Gasping as though it were some hideous abomination, I stopped flapping my ears and instead used the power of flight Cheese gave me to stop myself right in my tracks.

It was an awkward sensation. I had been so used to flying under my own power that using someone else's felt unnatural. As though it wasn't me. And knowing where it came from, why I had it; none of that helped. But more so, using that power made me feel dirty. As though by using it, I had committed some unspeakable act. I suppose I should have felt the same about stomping the ground or helping to build the Freedom Fighters' hideout in Knothole, but as I never had those abilities until then, it was still acceptable. And that was the difference here. Because I could already fly. Under my own power no less. And that made using Cheese's version of it all the more reprehensible.

"Oh, gosh! You okay down there?!" I looked up to see where the voice came from, though I was already somewhat familiar with it. Standing tall and proud was Bunnie. She was the same as ever, or at least she should have been if her legs were not so long.

"Uh, I am fine! I am more concerned about you! What happened to your limbs?!"

"Nothin', sugar! Rotor just added another extension."

"A literal one, it seems."

Bunnie chuckled. "Sure seems like it, don't it? Anyway, I'm not sure what good these things'll be since I can fly, but I've got somethin' else that might come in handy."

She clenched her fist and aimed her arm at the ground below, and it shot out and extended just like her legs. It quickly traveled to the grass below almost like a bullet, only stopping mid-air when Bunnie willed it to. "Okay, hon'. I think that's enough." She retracted the arm and the legs, the former coming back to her like a slinky and the latter carrying her down to her feet on the ground. In a moment, she was firmly down upon the ground and waved at me from below as though she hadn't a care in the world. "Come on down! The water's fine!" She was joking of course.

I hesitated. For a moment I thought it might have been best to fly away somewhere where no-one could see. Far away from here. But in another moment, I knew that was foolish. I could not leave my mother, not now. And even if I were to leave, where I could go? The village wouldn't accept me. Not after…

I fluttered down to the ground below, once again under my own power. We were right outside the Science Lab. Where Tails made that device. For only the briefest of seconds, I imagined myself bursting in and smashing that device apart, if only so that Eggman could find me. If only so he could end my suffering. But that was also foolish.

"Cream, right? So, what you up to? Looks like you've got a lot on your mind."

"I suppose." I changed the subject. "So, you said you were testing new limb extensions, correct?"

"You've got it! Though to be honest, I wasn't really for it at first. Rotor convinced me, but it took a lot of doin'."

"Is there something wrong?"

Bunnie sighed. Or at least she tried. Perhaps my bond with Cheese gave me greater perception or perhaps I was merely paying considerable attention, but as Bunnie attempted to sigh, I could not hear a single breath of air escape from her body. I looked at her chest. She was not inhaling or exhaling in the slightest. Or if she were, it was barely noticeable. "You could say that."

"Uh, Miss Bunnie? I hate to ask, but are you alright? You don't seem to be, well…"

"Breathin'? Is that it?" She suddenly didn't seem too pleased.

"Uh, well, if you want to put it that way…"

"It's fine, sugar. It's just, I don't know." She held up her arm. It glistened in the rays of sunlight that peeked through the thick treetops, like a beacon. "I used to think this was all I had to worry about. Now? Now I don't know. But I guess that's nothin' new."

" Miss Bunnie, if you wish to talk about it…"

"No, it's fine. But that's real sweet, sugar. Besides, I'm sure you've got your own problems."

She had hit the nail right on the head. "Well, now that you mention it, I am starting to believe that I may be having, as they say, issues."

"Don't we all?"

"Only, I am not sure what those issues are. I know that what happened back in the village did something to me. In more ways than one. It turned me into some sort of superhuman monstrosity. An unaging superhuman monstrosity. And I…" I nearly began to break down. Again. Only my sheer will and determination kept me from sobbing and collapsing altogether. "I did something unspeakable. So I don't know what my problem is. Or what I am going to do with myself. And I fear it may drive me insane."

I feel that if Bunnie's eyes could mist up, they would have. At that moment, she was undoubtedly sad enough. But as I would soon learn, that may have been impossible. "You're preachin' to the choir. I might not have done anything like you did, but still. I just had some tests done today. They still ain't finished, but ya know what they found so far? A lot of things. For one thing, as of this moment, I can't eat. I can't sleep. I can't breathe, I can't cry, I can't even go the bathroom! And you know what else they found? They took a sample of my hair from a week ago. Compared it one I've got now. My hair hasn't grown since. And I haven't aged a day."

It was then that it began to sink in. We may not have been exactly the same, far from it, but in many ways, was the same as me. "They still don't the cause. Not for sure. They think it might be some particle or somethin' they didn't catch. Somethin' that makes roboticization possible."

"Oh, Gaea! Don't tell me there's a chance you'll be fully roboticized!"

"No, not even close. They don't think there's any chance of that. Not without the Robitcizer to stimulate the particles. But they also think there's still enough on me that it might be affecting the rest of my body. Making it more durable, less weak. Better suited to some robot limbs. And they've got a point. After all, metal doesn't grow. Ten years later, I'd have to get some brand new metal prosthetics. Only now, those particles are makin' sure I don't have to. Hell, they're makin' sure I don't gotta do a lot of things."

I was near horrified. In fact, it was almost like something out of a horror novel. Not that I ever read them on account of being horror novels, but Amy told me enough about them for me know how they worked. And indeed, I was near scared out of my wits. But it would only be moments later when I knew why.

"I'm becoming somethin' I never wanted to be. Hell, I'm not sure I'll even be fully Mobian after this. And I'm not sure if I'm gonna be able to live with myself." She almost began to break down into a heap, her sheer strength of will and perhaps even her lack of tears keeping her together. "So ya see, ya aren't the only one who's got issues. Not by a longshot. So don't keep beatin' yourself up like ya are."

It was then that I realized. Realized that I was having my own little pity party. And I also started to realize that perhaps I had been too hard on myself. And that I also may not have been honest with myself. That I may have been hiding what I felt deep inside.

Tears began rolling down my cheek. "I didn't want to. I didn't want to do it. But he…"

My strength left me. I collapsed on the ground like a ragdoll. "I DIDN'T WANT DO IT! I DIDN'T WANT TO BE THIS! I DIDN'T WANT TO… didn't want…"

Just then, Cheese tried to grab my hand. Probably to console me. Unfortunately, at that moment, I didn't want to be consoled. Especially not by him. "DON'T TOUCH ME!" He removed his round arm as quickly as he could. And as soon as he did, I couldn't help but feel ashamed. "Oh, Gaea. Cheese, I'm so sorry. I…"

And that was when I broke down completely.

It's hard to remember exactly what happened after that. I know that I was sobbing like a baby. It's somewhat embarrassing looking back on it. Though Councilor Rosie says I shouldn't think of it that way. Sorry. Getting ahead of myself. In any case, other than that, I remember kneeling down and hugging me as much as she could. Seeing as I was nearly as strong as her, she didn't have to worry about crushing me to death. And in hindsight, I'm glad.

I still don't remember all of what told me, but this is what sticks out to me. "It's okay. Let it all out, hon. Gaea knows I can't. Just let it all out."

So I did. According to , we sat there outside the lab for a solid half an hour. Eventually, Tekno and Tails and the others came out to see what was going on, but they knew to keep away. Eventually, after I had cried so long and so hard my eyes were starting to redden, I finally stopped.

"Got it all out, hon?"

I rubbed my eyes with my ears. One of the conveniences of having a body full of fur. "I believe so."

"Good to hear."

"And I also believe I DO have issues."

"Don't we all."

"And I also believe that I would not have admitted that I did without you. Not to you and not myself."

"Don't mention it. Us messed up bunnies gotta stick together."

And at that, despite the tears and the pain, I couldn't help but smile. "Indeed we do. Thanks. Miss Bunnie."

Since then, I've been seeing Counselour Rosie regularly. We've only recently started, but I think I have begun to finally come to terms with, well, everything. Although she says it will be some before I am truly over it. If I ever will be.

I also spoke with mother. She said that she is happy I finally admitted my feelings, and also that I have finally agreed to Miss Rosie . She also says she feels I deserve to know the truth. Whatever that is. Not today, but soon she says. In any case, all I know that is that ever since I have spoken with Miss Bunnie, I have been more at ease with myself. I still have the occasional relapse as the early portions of this diary will attest to, but I feel I am beginning to get somewhere. I also continue to assist Miss Mina with song lyrics. Miss Rosie feels this helps as an outlet, so she encourages it. Anything that helps.

As for Bunnie, the two of us still talk every day. As she said, 'us messed up rabbits have to stick together.' I believe the both of us feel that by helping the other, we help ourselves. And that by talking with someone like ourselves, we don't feel so alone. And sometimes, having someone makes all the difference.


	42. Rules of War, Prolouge

"Easy does it."

An old blue hedgehog with a thick, white mustache was coming into a dock on Emerald Coast. He was driving a spiffy blue and yellow motorboat, and he managed to dock it without so much as a landing a scratch. He hopped onto the docks before tying up his baby and took a moment to scan the horizon. The wet sands and green and brown rocks were hard to make out just before the dawn, but he managed to puzzle it out all the same.

He began to march onto the beach like a hedgehog on a mission, though he couldn't help but momentarily marvel at the wonders before him. "Never quite saw a beach like this. Gonna have to make a note about it later." He continued to walk up the beach, his goal being the tall checkered cliffside that lay ahead. However, much to his surprise, he noticed something most peculiar.

A strange woman was standing next to a fire a ways down the beach. From what he could tell, he wasn't quite like any woman he had seen before. None living anyway. She had orange fur and dreadlocks and was dressed in ancient tribal garb that he had only seen in ancient textbooks written centuries ago. She also seemed to be looking directly at him. Even though they were so far apart, she was still gazing straight towards him, almost as if staring deep into his soul. And it just made him all the more interested in her.

He carefully walked towards her, only stopping when they were just feet apart. "Well, fancy meeting you here! And here I thought no-one lived on this here part of the island."

"And they don't, she said. "I am no exception." She was smiling as though she hadn't a care in the world, even though something about her made her seem as though she had every care to give.

"Well, normally I'd be grilling you for answers from here till doomsday, but I'm not here on a house call. Tell me, have you heard 'bout Sonic the Hedgehog? Looks like me, only with less of a stache and a lot younger. Know him?"

"Quite a bit. We haven't actually interacted all that often, but we've seen enough of one another to at least say we have something of an acquaintanceship."

"You don't say? Well, the reason I'm here is a bit more simple." He pulled a photograph of Sonic from a satchel strapped around his shoulder. "This is Sonic when he was little. Cute little bugger, isn't he? Always loved that kid like he was my own. Especially since I never had my own. Or I may as well not have. In any case, I'd do anything for my nephew. So of course, the second I heard he might be in trouble, I came looking for him. To be fair, he tends to start more trouble than not, but he's still my nephew. So I'm here to help him any way I can. That and let his parents know he's alright. They're worried sick. And I can't blame 'em. Poor Jules."

The strange woman's' eyes suddenly began to lower, her gaze almost piercing into the hedgehog as though a blade was being pressed against his neck. "Is that the only reason you're here?"

The hedgehog wasn't quite sure what to make of that, but he did know one thing. The only other thing than Sonic that mattered at this point. "Cut me to the quick. Truth be told, Sonic isn't the only reason I'm here. Granted, if he weren't, then I wouldn't be here anyway. But now that I am let's just say there's some unfinished business I want to attend to."

"Unfinished business, you say?"

"I suppose so. I never had all that many friends back in College. Makes sense when you're a Mobian stuck in a school full of humans over in the Federation. But I did have one. And now he's gone and made a mess of things. And I think it's partly my fault."

"Your fault?"

"Long story. Anyway, as long as I'm here, I plan on settling it. After I find Sonic. You sure you wouldn't happen to know where he is?"

"I do, in fact. But I am not sure that will matter much." The girl suddenly started to sulk, as though that warm glow that had made her seem all the lighter had slipped away. And the fire began to do the same. "For what it is worth, I am sorry."

"Sorry? What for?"

"For what happens next."

Suddenly, a low thumping could be heard in the distance. Almost like a stampede. "What was that?!"Chuck turned back toward the woman, but she was gone. If she had ever been there to begin with. "Okay, that takes the cake." Regardless, Chuck sidled the cliffside as a precaution. He didn't know whether they were friend or foe, but it didn't hurt to be cautious.

In any event, they were here. He heard two voices speaking to one another up top. One was loose and relaxed. Almost apathetic. As though he couldn't care less. The other was more electric. High-strung, volatile. Obsessed. Or at least she used to be. And just a tad morose."

"So, whatcha' think?" said the first voice. "Helluva view. I always come out whenever I wanna clear my head. Does me wonders."

"Yeah, well, whatever!" said the second. "I mean, oh, I don't know what I mean! It's fine, I guess. And I suppose it's sort of relaxing. And soothing. It's actually kind of pretty…"

"See? What'd I tell ya, Thundie? All you needed was some fresh air. Get yourself out a bit."

Chuck wasn't sure exactly what was going on. The most he could figure out was someone was having issues and their friend or associate was trying to help them sort things out. Other than that, he didn't have enough intel to be sure enough of anything else.

"Maybe. Still though. Swifty, did you ever wonder if maybe you were backing the wrong horse?"

"Whacha' mean?"

"Well, uh, it's kinda personal. And kinda 'bout Eggypoo. Promise you won't tell?"

'Eggypoo'? Wait a minute. She couldn't mean…

"Cross my heart. I might be a pro, but when it comes to personal stuff, I always keep my mouth shut. Just because you're working for a genocidal nutjob doesn't mean you can't be a good friend."

'Genocidal nutjob'? If they were talking about who Chuck thought they were…

"Yeah, well, that's the thing. Just about a week or two ago, I would have eviscerated you on the spot for even saying such a thing! I couldn't possibly have believed it! But now.."

"But now you're havin' second thoughts. Hey, not a problem. First part of being a pro is knowin' who you're workin' for. And if you can live with yourself afterward. Me, I can live with a lot of things. But if you can't, you can't. No harm done."

"Yeah. It's just, I used to believe Eggypoo was at the center of the universe. He was a genius! He cared for me when no-one else would! He had a vision that would bring a new dawn to Mobius! Fighting for him was fighting for someone, no, some THING worth living for!"

"And now you're starting to get wise?"

"Shut up! Aw geez, no, I'm sorry. You're right. But yeah, maybe that's it. I thought as long as Eggman was amazing, as long as he cared about me, he could do no wrong!"

'Eggman'. She said it. There were no doubts about it. This was him. Old Eggface.

"But now? Now, I don't know."

"Well, I won't stop 'ya. You wanna leave, that's your business."

"I don't know what I'm gonna do. Guess that'll be something I'll have to think about."

"Well, you'll wanna think about it soon. You know we're finally doing it, right?"

'Doing it'? Either that was an innuendo, (which Chuck personally doubted,) or Eggman's operations were starting to ramp up.

"Yeah. The big offensive. Finally gonna put those Freedom Fighters in their place! And if we were doing this a month ago, I would have been a lot more enthusiastic."

"Hey, like I said, you wanna quit, I ain't gonna stop ya. Just don't get in my way."

This didn't sound good. He had just wanted to see if Sonic was alright, maybe help him out if necessary. And also try and deal with Eggface. But now he had a real problem on his hands. He had to get out of there. Had to warn Sonic and the others. That said, it wouldn't be a good idea to just move out of there. He knew that there were some people on Mobius with incredible powers. And he had it on good authority that Eggman employed plenty of them. So he couldn't take the chance that they did.

"Getting bored," said the first one. "Gonna take a jog on the beach. Be back in a jiff'."

Chuck's eyes opened wide as though he saw his life flashing before his eyes. This was bad. He scanned his surroundings. He looked for anything he could find, anything he could use to hide or get out of dodge. Anything that could—

"Well. Lookie what I found."

Chuck wasn't sure how he had gotten down there. Not without him knowing. And not so fast. But almost as if in the blink of an eye, he was there, right in front of him. A green shrew wearing a bicycle helmet. And by the way he was smiling, he was happy to see him. "Hey now, don't you look familiar. You remind me of someone. A lot older with a lot more facial hair, but there's a hell of a resemblance."

Chuck tried to run, to duck, to do anything. And it was pointless. Swifty moved right next to him the second he took another breath. Whatever he did, he was done.

"Hey, Thundy, get down here! Long as you're still working for the boss, you'll wanna see this!"

Looking over the edge was a yellow chinchilla wearing a bright orange suit. "You find something? Hey, is that—?"

"You got it, Thundy. Don't know if he's his father or uncle or what, but there's no mistaking it. I think the Boss is gonna be hella' pleased."

Chuck tried to move his hand toward his satchel. If he could get a smoke bomb, perhaps he could do something. Perhaps he could escape. Perhaps—

"Ah, ah!" In the blink of an eye, Swifty was now in a hair's inch of Chuck. And his claws were right at this throat.

"HEY! Careful now!"

"Don't worry, Thundy. I ain't gonna do a thing. Not if he comes easy. You are gonna come easy, right?"

Chuck couldn't help but grunt. It was the only thing he could do. "Guess I don't have a choice."

"No, you really don't. Thundy, we're gonna have to cut this short. We got ourselves a prisoner!"

Well. Now he'd done it. All he wanted was to help his nephew. Take care of some unfinished business. And now he'd made himself a hostage. Ah well. If nothing else, he'd finally get to see HIM. After thirty years.

Small comfort.


	43. Rules of War, Chapter 1

"Come on. Come on. Come on now…"

Sonic was busy engaging in a game of 'Who can do absolutely nothing longest', or at least that's what he called it. In reality, he was sitting at the edge of the large pond in the depths of the forests of Knothole with a fishing pole in hand, with Sally by his side. And they weren't alone. Tails was there too, trying his best to plan out the calculations for the perfect catch. Chirps was also there, impaling fishies on stone skewers before bending and extending them to the shore. And Big was busy racking up a haul, making entire piles of fishes so large that the rest could only regard him with scorn.

Sally was calmly waiting for her own chance to try and catch, though she wasn't nearly so hairbrained or impatient as Sonic was in that regard. "You know that's not going to make it up bite the hook any harder, right?"

"Yeah, well, I'm still gonna try. I mean, we've been here for what, an hour now?"

"Try half."

"Seriously? So not cool."

"You're the one who dragged me out here, you know. I've still got a lot to take care off back at the office as is. The only reason I'm here is because you insisted."

"Well, to be honest, that's kind of why I'm here too. Tails really wanted to, something about figuring out the perfect catch, and darn if I was gonna suffer alone."

"How thoughtful."

"That said, I also knew you'd been pretty busy in there lately. Filing paperwork, going to all those towns and villages. Sounded like a lot of work."

Sally almost swore she could have felt a tug on her island, but sighed when she realized it was simply a trick of the wind. "It is. We're lucky Eggman hasn't started terrorizing the entire island yet, and we need to use that time to get all the help we can get. We need to bring as many villages and outlying towns together as we can if we really want to stand in chance. We've got a lot of firepower here in Knothole, but there are still only so many of us. If we want to win, we're going to need strength in numbers. And this is how we get it."

"By going to only Gaea knows how many villages and selling yourself as Gaea's gift to humanity."

"I wouldn't go that far. But the people need to know their Princess is still out there and ready to fight. And some just need to be told what's going on. We have a lot of isolated and old fashioned villages in the kingdom. Some of them barely even know what's happening these days. So this is the only way rally some of these towns together."

"I guess. Still though, I couldn't see me ever doing that sort of thing. Sounds like too much work."

"It is somewhat overwhelming sometimes. I suppose that's why I gave in and agreed to come down here with you. Even with so much work still on my plate, I think I just needed a break. Besides, I think they Harvey and the rest can get on without me for an hour or so."

"Yeah. Still though. I may act tough, but I couldn't do half of what you're doing. I think I'd be halfway across by the planet by now. Don't you ever think of just getting out of here? Leaving it all behind? Don't you ever wanna do what you wanna do?"

"Well, that's the thing. If I knew what else to do, I'd probably want to do it. I think maybe I'd like to be a writer, but I'm not really sure what I'd write about. But for better or worse, this is what I know how to do. So I'm going to do it. Even if it kills me."

Sonic let out a low whistle. "That's some conviction."

"I guess. But it's the only thing I've got."

"Hey now, you've got a lot of things! You're smart, you're gutsy, you never back down when the going gets tough even when everything else says you should, you don't let anyone else boss you around, you still know when to loosen up and have fun, you… Oh Gaea."

As Sonic began listing off the various reasons why he thought Sally was someone that was worth something, he realized that he couldn't seem to stop thinking about things he liked about her. And he realized that the two of them despite being so different might have had more in common than they thought. So much in fact that one of the bluest things alive was starting to become the reddest.

"Uh, that is, I meant to say, uh, oh hell…"

"It's alright, Sonic." Sally wasn't nearly so stupid as to not notice Sonic's changing complexion or his extensive list of compliments. And even though she wouldn't admit, some part of her was flattered. Enough that the only reason there wasn't even a smidgen of red on her cheeks was that her thick, brown fur covered it up. "Thanks. It means a lot."

"Uh, yeah," said Sonic, turning his face from Sally ever so slighly. "Just tryin' to help!"

"And you did. Sometimes, you need someone to remind you that there's more to you than you think. Especially when you've screwed up as often as I have. I couldn't save my Dad, the capital is in the hands of a Madman, and now the rest of the kingdom could follow suit. I know that there's not always much you can to do change things, but sometimes I feel like throwing caution to the wind and trying it anyway. Maybe if I'd done something else, something sooner, my Dad…" Her eyes began to mist up like a morning fog. Not that it lasted for long.

"Hey, Sal, come on. It's like you said. There's not always much you can do to change things. What's happened happened. Read The Hedghog Queen when you get a minute. It's surprisingly accurate."

"I know. But it isn't easy."

Just then, both Sally and Sonic couldn't help but be on guard. A faint ruffle came from the bushes, as though someone or something was that there that shouldn't have been.

"Hold on," whispered Sonic. "This won't take a moment." Before Sally could whisper 'Wait!', he was off.

It happened seconds later. At first, it didn't seem like much. It was a slight off color but other than than that, he was fine. And then came the stench. A powerful, nauseating stench threatened to shut down everything from now until today. His knees gave way and he vaulted smackdab into the floor, passing out from the sheer concentrated aroma. Faint traces of it wafted throughout the rest of the area, but it was nothing compared to what Sonic suffered through.

Tails looked up from his calculations, noticing the stench and wondered if some random animal had died recently. And then he saw Sonic sprawled out one the ground like a ragdoll. "Sonic!"

Big started to lift himself out of his fishing spot, but before he could, a voice suddenly arose from the bush which was none keen on having a dust-up. "Whoa, WHOA luv!" It was somewhat foreign. It sounded somewhat akin to someone from Downundah, but even then it wasn't an exact match. "Easy, mates!".

Stepping out of the bush was a tall, lean skunk wearing a baret and loaded with all sorts of military gear. Pouches, handguns, ammo, the works. It was almost as if were ready for a way. Though judging by how he knocked out Sonic with his pure stench, it definitely seemed like he was willing to start one.

"Wait a minute." Strangely, Sally could swear she recognized the man. It had been years since she last him, but she had heard of him constantly since. Assuming this was who she thought it was. "Geoffrey ?"

"The one and only, your highness. Deputy director of the Acorn Kingdom Intelligence Agency at your service. Or former deputy director, you might say." He briefly bowed; just long enough to show his fealty, but not enough for her to assume dominance. "Sorry about your beau. Shouldn't have gotten so startled. Guess I'm getting sloppy."

Wait, thought Sally. 'Beau'? She and Sonic weren't that close. Not yet anyway. Were they? That is to say, she thought Sonic was a good Mobian and a good friend, certainly. He wasn't always that smart, but he could always come through when needed. He was also gutsy, never backed down when the going got tough even when everything else says he should've, didn't let anyone else boss him around, still knew when to loosen up and have fun… Oh Gaea.

But enough of her possibly burgeoning feelings. Even if it was just a mistake, (which even then Sally somehow doubted in her gut,) Sonic was still down. Tails flew over to make sure he was alright,("You okay, big bro?!") but soon found himself pinching his nose in abject digust. "Oh, Gaea! Uh, I think Sonic's fine. If somewhat stinky. REALLY stinky. I think we'll have to throw him in the lake as soon as he wakes up. Or maybe before. Pee-yew!"

"Sorry 'bout that, mate," said Geoffery. "But in any case, I'm not here for a social call."

"I figured as much."

"You figured right. I'm afraid I've got some bad news."

Sally gulped. "Really now?"

"You're gonna want to get everyone together. Trust me on this one. It's a doozy.

* * *

Within the next hour, all essential personal were gathered around the table in the conference room. Sally and Geoffry were at the top, with Nicole laid out right in front of her. Johnny and Amy were right next to them, being the leaders of the bunch. Harvey and Quack were next. Harvey was eyeing Geoffery as though remembering days gone by, while Quack was content to wait for something actually important to happen. After all, he was a Doctor, not a waiter. (Literally.)

In the middle were the Science Team. Tails, Tekno, Johnny, and Rotor were all there, practically twiddling their bums as they waited with a minimal sense of anticipation. Next to them was Mina. In case anyone needed to get somewhere pronto, the two fastest things alive would be very nifty to have, and so the both were agreed to be let in to all future meetings. This just left Sonic, who was still in a snit at momentarilly being considered a social pariah. Everyone else in the room was doing their best to avoid him like the plauge. The result was that Sonic learned one is the loneliest number you'll ever know, and he didn't like it one bit.i

"Seriously?" said Sonic. "What, do you think I'm stink you to death? Is that it? Or is it? Because I'm really not feeling the love here."

Johnny waved his hand as if attempting in vain to blow the sheer stench out of the room. "Maybe you'd feel more of it if you didn't smell like feces." He glared at Geoffrey. "What did you to him?!"

"Well," said Geoffery, "maybe if you all had bothered to wait a minute before I got myself together, your boy in blue wouldn't have to sit apart from the reason of the room. Of course, maybe thats' just me.

"In any case," said Sally, "we have a job to do. Geoffrey, care to give them the short version?"

"If you insist." He pointed to a map sitting the middle of the table, it's parchment untarnished as if just recently made. "Right. Pay attention, lads. Me and Hershey were doing what's now our usual routine: Avoid getting caught by Eggman and take in as much as we could. And that's when we discovered something odd. You see, Eggman hadn't sent out his troops for some time. For whatever reason, he hasn't done it until now, even though he might have been able to crush us anytime he wanted. That is until he did."

Geoffery took a swig from his canteen. Whether it contained water or booze was anyone's guess. "Two large platoons were sent out, each one containing a mix of Egg Bosses, mooks, and a plethora of SWATbots, Badniks, and whatever else he could cook up on short notice. We watched them from a small opening in the nearest forest. Didn't do much to help, but against those things, there wasn't much I could've done."

"Fasnicating," said Tekno, clasping her hands together.

"Anyhoo," said Geoffery, "our sources indicate that those two lines aren't for show. Eggman plans on attacking two different places at once: Emerald Hill and the Aquatic Ruins. Don't know why though. Perhaps he decided he's had enough of letting us live as he sees it. Or maybe he's getting desperate."

"It makes sense," said Amy. "Eggman probably had a lot of this planned in advance. Except we're something he didn't plan for. He didn't think there'd be any resistance whatsoever."

"And now that he's bein' proven wrong," said Johnny, "he wants to get this over with."

"That would be my guess," said Harvey. "Even when he was nothing more than the Acorn Kingdom's head scientist, Eggman always wanted to make sure he was on top. This is simply an extension of that."

"IN ANY CASE," said Nicole, "WE can't— CANNOT ALLOW EGGMAN INTO THOSE ZONES. OR AT THE VERY LEAST NOT FOR LONG."

"Right, Nicole," said Sally. "In any case, I'm putting together two teams. Johnny, you're leading the first one. Amy, you're in charge of the other."

Amy scratched her head, unsure if she was the right hedgehog for the job. "Uh, are you sure about that? I mean, I kind of accepted just because it would be wrong not to. Or at least it would be from someone like you. I couldn't really turn you down! Not like that. But I don't know if I have what it takes."

"You've got what it takes, believe me," said Johnny. "Maybe you don't always leave the best first impression, but you're a natural at this sort of thing. Trust me."

Amy gulped. She wasn't entirely sure whether or not she should have believed him, but for whatever reason, she couldn't help but try to live up to his expectations. She clenched her fist, ready for what came ahead. Or at least close enough. "Thanks. It means a lot."

"Don't mention it," said Johnny. "Now, as for the teams…"

As Sonic helped the procedures unfold, he began to yawn as though he'd rather get a few minutes of shuteye than have to sit through this. Not that this wasn't important, but it wasn't exactly Roscar winning material. For once in his life, he wondered what old Eggface was up to. No matter what it was, it had to be more interesting than this.


	44. Rules of War, Chapter 2

"Sir?"

Eggman was walking down the corridors of his base in Robotropolis without a single iota of joy. It was time for the Morning Report, and that meant having Snively list off whatever projects were currently underway and their current rates of progress. It was hardly an enjoyable experience most of the time, but it had to be done. Besides, the only reason he wasn't standing in the Control Room to hear it was because he had something to look forward, and he was eager to get to it as soon as possible. Hence the walk and talk. Not that it made this any more exciting.

"Nothing, Snively," said Eggman. "You were saying?"

"If you say so. In any case, here is how things stand so far. Project Thorndyke is approximately at 40%. We're still in the relatively early stages, but we're making some considerable highway. It won't be long before he's running around without a care in the world."

"Quite. That one's special to me, Snively. For your sake, you had better hope this one comes through. Because if it doesn't…"

"There will be hell to pay, I know." Snively was starting to get wise, as if he had seen many of the tricks in Robotnik's playbook at least once. "Then there's Project Phage."

"Yes," said Eggman. "I still remember how they blocked our signals in that last operation. It was most infuriating. Like having an entire omelet fall on the floor after spending an hour preparing just the proper mixture. In any event, once this puppy is complete, it will be that much harder for them to do it again. Especially once it gets a chance to show its' true colors."

"Indeed. Moving on, we have Project D-E. It's taking us a lot of time and manpower, but we're slowly starting to build that basement hanger you requested. Once it's complete, whenever that is, we'll be able to start building the real thing."

"Egg-cellent," said Eggman. "And the last one?"

"You mean Project Hedgehog?" Snively slowly grinned from ear to ear, his teeth at that moment resembling those of a shark. "Swimmingly."

"That's good to hear. For your sake. But speaking of hedgehogs, I suppose it's time to meet my special guest!"

"Yes. He actually said something about you during our initial interrogation. Something about being an old friend. Care to explain what he meant by that?" Eggman glared at Snively like the devil, his cybernetics saying all that needed to be said. "Very well. Gaea forbid me for having the nerve to wonder why you happened to know someone that looks like a certain Gaea forsaken rodent. If you'll excuse me, I'll go and stick my nose back in the toilet like a good little lackey because that's apparently all I'm good for." By this point, condescension was dripping from every pore of Snively's being. Proof that he was steadily running out of fucks to give.

"Funny." By this point, the both of them were nearing the Special Class Prison Cell. The same one that Eggman had used for King Acorn. A special prison for a special guest. "Oh, and if I catch you eavesdropping, I WILL use that nose of yours as a doorstop, I'll have you know."

"I'll make sure it's properly furnished." He opened the gold plated door, beckoning Eggman to step in after giving the most half-hearted bow of his life. And it wouldn't be the last. "After you, your obeseness."

"Cheeky, aren't we?" Eggman would have had to be a fool not to notice Snively's latest run of insults, and it was clear that Snively was finally having it up to here. And he was okay with that. In fact, he encouraged it. The more Snively became a self-serving, backstabbing SOB, the more he'd be ready to carry on Eggman's work if the time came. And if he somehow usurped control? At least he'd have a worthy successor. Not that he'd admit it.

In any case, it was time to begin. Eggman walked through the door before Snively slammed it shut behind him. Sitting in a luxurious red chair with golden highlights was Uncle Chuck. On a round table in front of him was a plate of eggs' benedict, sausage, and hashbrowns, all prepared to perfection. And as Chuck crossed his shoulders, he couldn't care less. Perhaps if there weren't a pair of Troopers pointing a couple of rifles at his person, he'd be more inclined to take a bite.

"Chuck!" said Eggman, walking over to his seat. "It's been too long!" He plopped down on a second chair exactly like Chucks and picked up his own plate of food. Again, it was exactly like Chuck's. "How long has it been? Ten years? Twenty?"

"Nearly thirty," grumbled Chuck. "Though in case you've forgotten, it wasn't for lack of trying on my part."

"Ah, well, I'm most sorry, but being a paid scientist is a rather busy endeavor. I just don't always have the time to make social calls."

"More like never. I tried to call you more than once, but after the first few years, you never picked up."

Eggman had been itching to start his eggs' benedict, but as Chuck opened his mouth, Eggman's own chops stopped just short of having that first bite and froze mid-chomp. Eggman slowly finished the bite but placed his plate down delicately afterward. "Yes. If I'm going to be perfectly honest, I had meant to call you back. Every time you called, I said to myself, '"I'll call him back later. No harm done!"' Well, I suppose the harm has been done, hasn't it?"

"Even if it hadn't, you've still done plenty of harm regardless." He inspected his plate carefully, making sure the food wasn't poisoned or that there wasn't a boobytrap on the bottom. "You really can't think there's a chance we can patch things up after THIS."

"I suppose not. Although, I suppose I still owe you an explanation."

"Quite. All those years ago, you didn't mention a word about any of this. In fact, you were a really different sort of fella back then. You didn't want to hurt anyone or make anyone suffer. Or if you did, you did a helluva job of covering it up."

"Why thank you!" said Eggman. He was practically giddy. "On covering it up, I mean. Not everyone gets that one."

"To be fair, you always knew how to keep a secret." Chuck finally took a bite of egg, hoping that he hadn't met his maker. "Like the time we taped an automatic hair conditioner to the Dean's pajamas and hung it up the flagpole. Sucker kept on blowing like it was flapping in the wind to no tomorrow. Would've expelled the both of us if you hadn't kept your trap shut."

"I do seem to recall that particular incident, yes. I believe I had some shred of integrity back then."

"Or the time we nearly got caught trying to sell the school's power generator on the black market. It was like something out of a bad sitcom."

Eggman chomped into one of the sausages as though he were tearing it apart with his large, pearly teeth. "Now that was a hoot! I can still see it now, the both of us crawling through those dirty, half clean air ducts like it was yesterday."

"Well, we wouldn't have nearly gotten caught if you hadn't been stuffing your face with pork rinds!"

"And if you hadn't blown all your spare cash on chili dogs, we wouldn't have been in that mess in the first place!"

The two glared at each other, neither one giving an inch. It was such an intense struggle that one could swear there was a single solitary bead of sweat on each of their brows.

Then, without any prodding or pretenses, one of them laughed. Even if only slightly.

Then the other the did the same.

The first one laughed again, only more so.

Same with the other.

The two of them continued to laugh and laugh and laugh until what began as a virtual whisper had turned into a righteous uproar, neither able to contain themselves in the least.

It wasn't to last. It took the longest time, but it gradually died down until all that was left was a long, awkward silence. One neither was quite sure how to break.

Chuck finally broke the damn. "Julian. Why can't things go back to how they were before? Just what the hell happened to turn you into, well, THIS?"

Eggman didn't answer for the longest time. He didn't look up. He didn't touch his plate. He didn't laugh. He didn't do a darn thing. Until at last, he spoke. "Chuck. I hate to admit it. Especially because I honestly didn't see this coming. But — and this is a shock for me — I do still like you. And I'd like to still think of you as a friend. So please. Do NOT push this. Because if you do, I honestly don't know where this is going to go."

For a moment, Chuck held his tongue, mulling it over. He then slowly put down his plate, thinking it all through as he did so. And then he made his declaration. "Julian. I know about the roboticizer."

For a moment, there was nothing. Nothing but silence. Until it was broken. "Do you now?"

"Did I ever mention I used to be old pals with Harvey Who? We go way back. So much so that when you started setting yourself up as the Acorn Kingdom's Supreme Leader, he started sending me encoded radio messages without anyone knowing a thing. But he knew about the roboticizer. And he knew just who originally built it. So it was only proper to let them know their work was being stolen from right under their nose."

"I see."

"I guess I can't say I'd have given them to you if you asked. Not if I knew you were gonna use them for this. And don't think I'm blind. I saw everything on the way here. And I know what you're using it for. And it's horrific. I mean, you might as well have slaughtered them and made tools out of their corpses. In fact, that might have been better than what's actually been done to them."

Eggman began rubbing his thick, bushy mustache, as though attempting to give the impression he actually cared a whit about what Chuck had to say in this particular instance. "Honestly, Chuck, I'm appalled that you aren't more pleased with your device is being used so lucratively! Think about it. It's essentially free slave labor."

"You just dug yourself even further than you already have. You realize that, don't you?"

"If you want someone to blame, blame Snively. He's the one who hacked into your personal database. Of course, he doesn't know about our little relationship, but what he doesn't know won't kill him! Yet."

"I suppose what I really want to know is, what's even the point? You're trying to take over an entire kingdom. You've stolen my device and re-purposed it as a slave labor machine. And you're for all intents and purposes doing this with the end of goal of taking over the world. I'd ask you take a step back and see how insane this all is, but I'm starting to realize that would be a lost cause. So again, I've really got to ask: Why?"

Eggman had just started to go back to eating his eggs, but all he could accomplish was meekly swallowing one little morsel before Chuck asked that dreaded question again. "Chuck. Again. Do NOT push it."

"Oh, I'm going to push it. You think you can steal my device and use it in such a fashion and not expect me to want to know what it's all for? Nevermind being kidnapped. That's the cherry on the sundae."

Eggman firmly placed his plate down on the table before getting back up. He stood tall as he loomed over Chuck, his red cybernetic eyes gazing at him before he promptly pulled a literal about-face. "We're done here." He began to walk the door, intent on walking out of there as quick as a bunny.

"I expected as much."

Eggman stopped dead in his tracks. "Come again?"

"Oh, don't act so surprised. It was always this way, wasn't it? Why, back in college, whenever one of the teachers asked you a hard or uncomfortable question, you always tried to just get up and walk away. Whenever the Dean asked you why you never talked about your parents, you did the same. And whenever Lucinda asked why you weren't as dreamy or hunky as Carl—"

That did it. Eggman whirled back around. His face was livid and red as a beet, and his teeth were clenched like a vise. He stomped straight over to Chuck and lifted him straight up by the neck.

"Oh, struck a nerve, did I?" said Chuck. "Perhaps we're finally getting somewhere!"

"Do you really want to know so badly, you miserable rodent?!"

"So that's what you really think of me, is it? And here I thought we actually had something. Guess I was wrong."

Eggman gritted his teeth, growling like a feral animal before finally tossing Chuck back on his chair and plopping right down on his own. His fingers clasped together and he seemed to be thinking long and hard about whether or not he should go through with this. Eventually, after long last, he said his piece. "Did you hear what they did to my grandfather?"

And in that moment, Chuck finally started to understand what this was all about. Or at least part of it. "I heard the rumors."

"Rumors nothing. I'll spare you the details, but suffice to say, it was nothing short of an atrocity. To make a long story short, my grandfather was working on a number of different projects for GUN fifty years ago. 'The arm of the Federation.'" Eggman scoffed as if he couldn't bear to say it with a straight face. "However, GUN was still in its' early days. It wasn't long before Gerald figured this out for himself, and when he did, he threatened to leave GUN and take all his work with him."

"I bet GUN wasn't too happy about that."

"Thank you for stating the obvious. No, they were far from happy. In fact, they were livid. After that, all it took were some trumped up charges, a President who couldn't care less, and, well, you can see where this is going."

"I can imagine."

Eggman began to clench his fist, as though he could just imagine strangling the head of GUN in his thick, fatty grip. "They ransacked the place. Put my grandfather in chains. And his grandaguther…"

"'Grandaughter'?"

"Yes. He had a daughter. So innocent, so sweet. So naive. At least according to my grandfather's journals and diary's. I never got the chance to meet her.

"That so?"

"Indeed. And do you know why?"

"You tell me."

"Because they gunned her down at first sight."

Chuck's eyes opened wide. He could scarcely believe it. And yet, if Eggman were telling the truth… "Julian. If this is true…"

Eggman stood up livid. "Of course it's true! It's all there! Right in the notes! THEY MURDERED HER! Because they couldn't afford a single witness! I'm honestly not quite sure what happened after that. Certain pages are muddy or torn out. Still can't fathom why. But I do know what he did in the end. Before GUN put him in front of a firing squad once they were done with him. And he vowed vengeance on all of Mobius. So I'm going to make sure he gets what he wants. Well? Does that answer your question?"

Chuck mulled it over. His index fingers were pushing together over his mouth and his eyes were closed in thought as if he could scarcely believe what Eggman had just told him. And yet, what choice did he have? If it really were in his notes (and seeing as he probably wouldn't have the chance to look at them himself), he'd have to take Eggman at his was still a lot unanswered, no doubt but at least Chuck seemed to have gotten what he asked for.

Or did he?

"Julian. I am sorry for you. I really am. And what GUN did was reprehensible. It truly was. But there's still something I don't understand."

"And what's that?"

Everything you mentioned — Gerald, GUN's hostile takeover, his daughter — that was all fifty years ago. You never even met the man. Are you really trying to take over a whole island because you're chasing after a ghost?"

"Chuck, it isn't just my grandfather they ruined. It's his reputation. After they turned my grandfather into a war criminal, they made him into a pariah. They tarnished his name to the point where if anyone heard it, most of them would only recognize it as a bad omen. Even among my parents and relatives, it's a disgrace. But I never thought of him that way. Simply put, he was my hero. So I was always compared to him. By my parents, by my uncles, even by some of the bullies at school. EVERYONE! Well, they'll rue the day they ever laughed at us. When I'm done with this place, I'll show them just how wrong they were."

Eureka. Just like that, something clicked in Chuck's brain. It had all finally come together into one collective whole, like having an epiphany. And he didn't like it one bit.

"That's what this is about, isn't it? This isn't about your grandfather or his reputation or any of that! It's about you."

"Come again?"

"Julian, remember back when we were in college? You told me what it was like for you growing up. How you were picked on. Disrespected. Bullied. How you were relentlessly abused by your parents. And how you'd do to all of them what was done to you. I know what this is about. You say you're doing this to avenge your grandfather, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. You think the world's wronged you just like it wronged your grandfather, so you want to make them all pay! You're not doing this to avenge anyone but yourself."

Eggman simply stood there. Motionless. He didn't seem angry. Or sad. Or much of anything really. He was inscrutable. As though he could be any number of things or nothing at all. And then, slowly, carefully, he spoke. "Guards. Chuck and I are going on a nice trip to the Control Room. Do follow along, won't you?"

"Julian, what's this about?"

Eggman did his best not to seem upset in the slightest, but his eyes betrayed him. They were narrow, focused, and glowing red hot like fire. So much so that they might as well have been burning straight into Chuck's soul. "I want to show you something. Something I'm sure you'll appreciate."

"Julian?" But he wasn't listening.

"Chuck, part of me still respects you. I really do. As a scientist. And so for now, I'll do my best not to lay so much as a single quill on your head. But your nephew is a different story."

"And who said I have a nephew?"

"Oh, Chuck. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out. Just look at the two of you. In any case, I was going to get to him sooner or later. He was still a pest that was getting in my way. But now? Now it's personal. I'm going to crush every bone in his body and make you watch."

"Julian, think about this for a minute—"

"I have. And you're no different from all the rest. Thirty years! For thirty years I'd thought you'd be better than them. But in the end, you're the same."

"Julian, please—"

"It's Eggman to you! Guards, take him to the Control Room. And make sure he gets a front row seat." And as the Troopers began to grab Chuck by the wrists, all he could think was that he hoped he didn't leave the burner on back home. And that Sonic was okay. Because somehow, he knew he wasn't going to be much longer.


	45. Rules of War, Chapter 3

"Are we there yet?"

Sonic was leading the pack as they raced through the plains leading to the Emerald Hill Zone. The grass was beginning to become checkered. Loop-the-loops were starting to dot the landscape. Floating platforms popped up once in a blue moon. However, the more things stayed the same, the more they changed. The most prominent difference was the square hills. Rather than merely being checkered all the way through, they were instead shaped like a series of interconnected squares and rectangles, all fitting together and only being replaced with checkers at the ends. There were also various waterfalls and small fields of flowers peppered throughout the hills, though it was nothing that wouldn't be out of place in Green Hill.

Sonic was at the top of the group's formation. He was leading the way, paving the way forward for the rest of the crew. Manic was flying in his green forcefield while Bunnie was jetting along like a jet cruiser. Everyone else was content to use the bikes, and while they weren't as fast as Sonic, they were fast enough to keep up.

"Not yet," said Amy. She was positioned right behind Sonic and was doing her best not to get too exhausted from the hedgehog's constant line of inquiry. ("Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?") Part of her was hoping he didn't bring up her recent behavior in the last few weeks. After all, that incident with the cardboard box could be considered grounds for stalking in some circles. And another part was wondering how she could have fallen for him in the first place.

The others weren't faring much better. Tails opted not to fly along with Bunnie and Manic on account of not wanting to tire out his tails, though he seemed confident that he'd worked out a solution to that little conundrum soon enough. Sonia seemed to be fiddling with some sort of crystal or another, with her bike following the others via autopilot.

That just left Antoine, sulking at the end of the group in his little bike. He seemed to have a lot to say, but for whatever reason just couldn't bring himself to say it. Which, given recent events, was somewhat understandable. Bunnie tried to fly over to him once or twice to give him some comfort, but he didn't seem to be in a very comforting mood.

"Seriously?" said Sonic to Amy. "How long have we been running along here anyway?"

Amy checked her watch. She might as well humor him, she thought. "About half an hour. It shouldn't be that much longer now. That said, what are you complaining about exactly? I mean, you're the fastest thing alive. Running on an open plain ought to be one of your wet dreams."

"Not if I know where I'm going. It's like choosing between a normal dog and a chili dog. One is a lot more safe but doesn't have nearly as much to it, making it a lot less fun. While the other one has a lot more uncharted territory and might send you to the hospital if you take too much of it, but it's all worth it in the end. When I'm just runnin', I choose the chilidog. I want to just run with wild abandon, go wherever the wind takes me. But with something like this, I already know what the end goal's gonna be. Takes the fun right out of it."

"Yeah, well, I don't mind some adventure every now and then, but I still like to know where things are going. If I'm going to have a chilidog, (and that's a terrible analogy by the way,) I want to know exactly what's in it and what I'm getting before I possibly give myself a heart attack. Basically, I like to be on top of things."

Sonic briefly looked Amy in the eyes, as though he couldn't believe she just made an innuendo. And Amy swiftly took notice. "Uh, that is to say, not in that way. At all. Ever. In case you get any ideas."

"If you say so," said Sonic. "I just know someone was REALLY eager to be right next to me a few weeks back. Even though we barely had a proper conversation. Ever. There's being dedicated and then there's stalking. If I could've, I would've put a restraining order on you, ya know."

Amy winced, his words hitting straight home. "Yeah, I know. I guess I was overdoing it, huh?"

"Ya think? I mean, when someone's following you around in a cardboard box, 'overdoing it' is probably being polite. Or maybe that's just me."

Amy sighed as though remembering an old shame from years gone by. Even though it had only happened weeks ago. "I know. It's just, it's kind of silly, but I'm sixteen. And I have never been in love before."

"You mean, never been in a real relationship?"

She nodded, as though being unable to come out and say it. "Not once. And I knew girls who'd been doing it since they were fourteen. Maybe even sooner. I think I got jealous that I wasn't racking up a score. That I wasn't as far along as some of the other girls were."

"Kind of a slowpoke, huh? Not surprised."

Amy's right eye twitched, as though she had just been insulted. (Even if she hadn't been.) "Hey, excuse some of us for not being the fastest thing on the planet. Besides, what did you want me to do, be a slut? I know some women are fast and easy, but—"

"Whoa, hey, sorry! Guess I should've thought that one through a bit more, huh?"

"No, it's fine. It's— okay, it's not fine, but it's not worth arguing about either. Really."

Sonic sighed. He would have closed his eyes for a moment if there wasn't the risk of running into a loop-the-loop or tripping over a stone or something along those lines. Instead, he merely shook his head as though trying to relate. "Look, if I'm gonna' be honest, I've never been in a relationship either. Not yet anyway. I'm fast, but I'm not that fast. Same as you I guess."

Amy scoffed. "And here I thought you were the fastest thing alive. Well, I guess that's something we have in common."

"Maybe. All I know is that up until now, I was either too busy causing trouble or too busy traveling to even think of getting jiggy with it. But now that I'm stuck in one place, well, I don't know. It's too early to say. But I do know that with this sort of thing, taking it slow because you've got other priorities is nothing to be ashamed about."

Amy blushed. "Uh, thanks. In any case, I think I'm gonna drop the whole 'stalker with a crush' thing. Because I really shouldn't have been doing that in the first place. If something happens between us, it happens."

"Hey, if it means I don't have to keep checking around my ankles to make sure you haven't snuck in the bathroom, I'm all for it."

"Seriously?"

"Hey, you were stalking me in a cardboard box! Anything was possible."

"Uh-huh. But whatever. I guess I deserved that one. Anyway, friends?"

"Why not? Sure thing. And if things ever go from there, well, we'll just play it by ear."

"Fair's fair. And thanks."

"Hey, don't mention it! That's what friends do."

"If you say so. That said, if I'm going to be honest, you were the reason I dropped everything and got myself stuck in the middle of a revolution. And helping to lead one no less. Without you, I don't really know why I'm here."

"Well, sometimes I'm not really sure why I'm here either. I mean, I know why I'm here, but sometimes I wonder if that's enough. Maybe it's not really the same thing, but I kinda get where you're comin' from. But either way, it's not like I can just back out now."

Amy sighed in resignation. "And I guess it's the same with me. I may not know why I'm doing this, but either way, I've got a job to do. So I'm going to do it. Even if it kills me."

"Hey, that's the spirit!" Sonic gave her a resounding thumbs up.

"Thanks, I guess." Amy checked her watch. "Anyway, we should be almost there." She lifted up a pair of souped-up binoculars strapped around the bike's handle and looked into the distance. "There's a village over there, alright. And from the looks of things, Eggman still hasn't made it over to that neck of the woods just yet."

"It's probably because he sent out so many of them this time around," said Tails. "From what Geoffery told us, they might as well be a small army. As scary as that is, it does give us time to evacuate as many people from that village as we can while also letting us make our stand. And maybe buy enough time for the militias to get here."

"Good thinking, Tails," said Amy.

"What she said, lil' bro!" said Sonic. "Sally was nuts trying to make you stay behind again!"

"Thanks, big' bro. But I really owe it to Amy."

"Hey, don't mention it!" said Amy. "I mean, let's face it, you're one of the smartest people here. If I see someone useful, I'm not going to let them go to waste. And you're far too useful to pass up. Even if you still haven't hit puberty yet."

Tails was flattered by Amy's sound, logical reasoning. If nothing else. "Uh, thanks. I guess."

"Hey, what can I say? My dad taught me to be pragmatic as sin. You take what you've got and play your hand accordingly. Which is what we've got to do now. It should be fine over there, but be ready for anything."

Surprising one and all, Antoine was the first to suggest the worst. "What if it is a trap?"

"Antoine!" Bunnie gasped. "You can't be serious!"

"That's what I was going to say," said Amy. "I can't say the thought didn't cross my mind, but seriously?"

"Believe me, I do not wish to believe it any more than you do," said Antoine. "But think about it. I know that Sally said she had spoken with them, that they would be willing to help us, but how can we know that for sure? For all we know, they could turn against us when our backs are turned. Out of survival, if nothing else."

Bunnie nearly seized Antoine by the arm, only stopping just short of doing so. "Okay, sugar, we've gotta talk. I know things've been rough, but—"

"I am sorry, Bunnie, but I cannot. I just... cannot. Not just now."

Bunnie backed away, but judging by the look on her face, she was far from over it. "We ain't done. We're talkin' about this when this is over, you understand me?"

"Uh, well," said Amy, "I'll keep that in mind. But I'm not going to start suspecting our friends and allies without some real concrete proof. Or at least not act on it. Anyway, let's head on in."

A moment later, they revved their engines back up and they were on their way.

* * *

When they made it to the village, they found themselves greeted by the hustle and bustle of a town readying themselves for war. Half of the town militia was stationed near the entrance, practicing their skills before the ensuing conflict. The blacksmiths and craftsmen were preparing whatever gear and weapons they could. There were a few laser rifles from the science team in Knothole, but for the most part, they'd have to make do with old fashioned iron and steel. And everyone else was either waiting to be evacuated or doing what they could.

"You see, Ant'?" said Bunnie. "Nothin' to worry about." And all Antoine could do was grunt in defiance. A small mole in a nice suit soon came out to greet them as they neared the village gates, burrowing out from the under the ground as if he could sense their arrival. "Ah, greetings! The Freedom Fighters, I presume? You've been making quite the name for yourself!"

Amy shook his clawed hand, doing her best not to cut herself. "I bet. You got our message then?"

"Indeed. Haven't received a message by Flicky for some time. Though that just made it all the more urgent."

"Right. Though from the look of things, you're doing your best to make yourself ready."

"Quite. We are of course hoping you can take care of this threat before it gets here, but if not, we are ready to do our part. Most of us anyway. Those who aren't are ready to evacuate to Knothole."

"Glad to hear it. Sonic?"

"On it!" In a flash, Sonic found the evacuees, and they were all quickly gone like a gust of blue wind.

"I trust they'll be well taken care of?" said the mayor.

"If they aren't, I'll shoot myself in the foot. Which is less than what I'd deserve, honestly."

"Good, good. In any case, if there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask."

"Thanks, but I think we'll be good."

"Good. With that said—"

Just then, they heard a scream from the back of the village. Then another. And another. And another. And anoth—

"My word!" said the Mayor. "What is-?"

"EVERYONE GET IN THERE NOW!" Everyone, Freedom Fighter and Minuteman both, rushed through the gates. It was a bloodbath. Every single member of the militia stationed in the village, every weapon maker, every supply vendor, everyone. Every single one was now a corpse lining the ground, and their blood was flowing out like a pool upon the stone streets and the grass. And standing in the center was none other than Swifty the Shrew.

"Hey, what's up, peeps?" He stood there, smiling like the devil and eyeing the Freedom Fighters as though Christmas had come early.

"EVERYONE, GET BACK!" Tails said at the top of his lungs. "I know this guy! And I'm pretty sure he fought Sonic to a standstill!"

"Oh yeah! You're one of those dudes Maw got his ass handed to, aren't ya? He's lookin' to pay you back ya know, big time. Especially that rabbit. But he's not who I'm after."

This was bad. Amy tried to buy time. She didn't have any powers. And she wasn't the fastest thing alive. All she had was herself. And that would have to be enough.

"You fought Sonic to a standstill, right?" said Amy. "In that case, you're probably as fast as him."

Antoine balked at the horror before him, his somewhat callous veneer cracking apart as his true self came rushing forth. "Sacre bleu! All this death!" Without hesitation, he drew his sword, all evidence of his timid nature gone. At least for the moment. "I DO NOT CARE WHETHER YOU ARE AS FAST AS HIM OR NOT! YOU WILL ANSWER FOR THIS!"

Swifty flashed his sharp claws, their fresh blood glistening in the afternoon sun. "Hey, don't get so worked up! It was nothin' personal, really. I just wanted to make sure no-one got in the way. See, I got bored of just marching along like a slowpoke. So I decided to go have myself some fun. Consider me the vanguard."

"Please don't tell me you're serious," said Sonia. "You're telling me you went ahead of everyone else and slaughtered half the village just so you could 'have some fun'?"

"Oh, no. Like I said, I was just getting them out of the way. This? This is the real fun." In an instant, he became a blur. Manic held out his ring and formed a solid green sphere around him, trapping Swifty within. Though he'd managed to get just within an inch of Sonia's face before he was.

"I've got him!" said Manic. Though it wasn't as though he'd have him for long.

"Now this is new. But so is this." Swifty began whirling in place like a top, drilling downwards and doing his best to pierce right through. And as the bubble slowly stretch downward like a balloon, it seemed it was working.

"Manic!" said Amy. "Can you put a, I don't know, a box or something around him? Something that'll do a better job at locking him up!"

"Whatever you say!" He closed his eyes and concentrated. Just as Swifty broke free of the bubble, he landed on the floor of a large green box. Not that he cared.

"You think this'll hold me?" he said. He quickly turned himself back into a drill and began boring straight through it. Or at least he attempted to.

"Actually, yeah." This time around, the walls were much thicker than the bubble, and it would take a lot more than spinning like a construction tool to break free of them. Not that Swifty couldn't be inventive. Or that would Manic's constructs would hold up forever. A bead of sweat rolled down his forehead, as just keeping Swifty trapped was already beginning to take a toll on him.

"Right. Who's up for some pinball?" Swifty rolled himself up into as much a ball as he could and hurled himself at the nearest wall. He bounced off it at just the right angle to bounce off the next wall, and he continued to do this every time he hit one. He was bouncing and bouncing, eventually going so fast that one could barely see him at all. More importantly, he was putting out a lot of force in a short amount of time, and more sweat started to roll down Manic's face.

"Yeesh!" said Manic. "Persistent little bugger, huh?"

"And smart," said Amy. "If he keeps this up long enough, it might actually work. How long do you think you can keep going?"

"Not sure," said Manic. "Though if he keeps on doing this, I'm not really sure how long it'll be."

Just then, Antoine had an eureka moment. "Of course! That is why he is doing this! It is not just because he is bored as he said, though that may be part of it! It is to buy the others time so that they make it here without us getting in the way!"

"He's right," said Tails. "And without Sonic here, we can't speed up towards them as quick as we could. Not that they were counting on that, but still."

"Then we need to take him out as quick as possible," said Amy. "Manic, think you can open up a tube in that box of yours?"

Manic looked at Amy as though she had gone sick in the head. "Uh, yeah, but—"

"Good. Bunnie?"

"Yeah, sugar?"

"Wait right in, say, this spot here. When I give the word, get ready to give him the beating of his life. Give him one single punch with everything you've got." She turned to Manic. "Manic, after you make the tube, that's also your cue to turn that off box and make a wall instead Got it?"

"Sure thing!"

"Alright! Manic, Bunnie, DO IT!"

It happened just like that. A long tube suddenly formed from the box straight at Bunnie, and Swifty wasted no time aiming himself straight towards it. It propelled him in a straight line towards Bunnie's person, and when he reached the end, it shot him out like a bullet. As soon as it did, the box disappeared. In its' place was a massive wall set right behind Swifty and at the far end of the village. And it was about to get very useful very soon.

Swifty was coming hard and fast, and Bunnie saw her moment. Putting her all into it, she raised her metal arm and let out the single fastest and hardest punch she had ever had the privilege of giving anyone. And just like that, he was done. With one single blow, Swifty was hammered right into the wall of hard-light that Manic summoned with more raw force than a wrecking ball. He was so savaged that he couldn't even work up lifting so much as a single finger. He was out like a light and down for the count. And it had ended nearly as quickly as it had begun.

It took a moment for everything to settle in. Everyone was standing silent as the grave. The whole thing was a hell of a shock. It was only seconds later that they finally had the nerve to pick themselves up and respond to the fallout. "Men," said the Mayor, "take that THING into custody! Tie him up, lock him in irons, dig him in a hole, I don't care! Just as long as he can't harm anyone else."

Two Minutemen promptly rushed forward. Tying both Swifty's arms and legs together, they lifted him up and carried him out of sight. "Uh, if you don't mind," said Tails, "I'd like to follow along. Make sure he's properly locked up. I want to make sure he can't hurt anyone else as much as you do."

Just then, one of the remaining Minutemen spoke. "Sir, with all due respect, that SOB just slaughtered half our village! Men, women, children! Even if we somehow manage to keep him properly incapacitated, he could still do it again if we're not careful. This could be our only chance."

"I must admit," said Antoine, "while I do not completely agree, he does have a point."

"Hold it!" said Sonia. "Are we seriously even having this conversation? Killing in self-defense is one thing, but this—"

"— is war, young lady," said the Mayor. "With all due respect. And to be frank, I don't like it any more than you do. But what choice do we have?"

Holding herself with grace and poise, Amy stepped forward. "With all due to respect to YOU, sir Mayor, this isn't really the time or place to be discussing this. He didn't come over just to have some fun. He came to stall us."

"Well, to be fair, he didn't stall us for very long," said Tails.

"That's beside the point," said Amy. "If we sit here arguing about whether or not to kill him—"

"So let's just kill him," said one of the Minutemen.

Amy ignored him as though he hadn't said a word.

"If we sit here arguing about whether or not to kill him, they could be on us before we even knew it. You want to lock him up somewhere? Fine. But we can argue over moral quandaries after this is over."

"What's there to argue?" said the Minuteman. "This is war. If we don't kill him, he'll kill us. Hell, he's already killed some of us! He killed half of our village before we could blink! You say this is a moral quandary, but I say it's a necessity. Or are you really going to tell him we should give him the chance to slaughter the rest of us?"

This was a conundrum if there ever was one. Except should it really have been? Amy knew that morally, killing someone in cold blood was wrong. Whoever he was, whatever he'd done, he'd been stopped. He was no longer a threat. And he was defenseless. If they went and killed him now, it would be tantamount to murder. And Amy was no murderer.

That said. This was a war. And their newly acquired prisoner had committed war crimes. Crimes that, at the moment, no court of law was equipped to deal with. Nor was there a prison to handle him. The only judge, jury, and executioners available were her, her fellow Freedom Fighters, and the town militia. And the latter seemed to have already cast their vote. Nevermind that if he wasn't stopped now, he could just kill again. If they became his executioners, they could no longer call themselves heroes. But were heroes what this war truly needed?

As if to put a stop to her overly long train of thought, Tails called out to her, pointing towards the horizon. "Uh, Amy, I think you'd better see this." Having shaken her out of her internal debate, he handed her the binoculars. And what she saw was enough to cause her quills to prick up ever so slightly.

In the distance was a large group of trucks, much like the ones Amy saw when they were buying time for Nicole to block the signal emitting from Marcus' tracker. Except there were more than there was the last time she saw them. A lot more. With that image now firmly in her noggin, she had to wonder even if Sonic showed up right that very minute if everyone she had would be enough. But it would have to do.

She gave the binoculars back to Tails. By this point, everyone could see the oncoming series of convoys up ahead. "My stars!" said Bunnie. "That's a lot of trucks!"

"Indeed," said Antoine. "And not very many of us. We will have to hope that raw firepower is enough." He held up his sword, taking note of the various buttons that had been embedded in the hilt. "Or at least buy enough time for the other militias to arrive."

"My thoughts exactly," said Amy. But regardless, we can't let this town get wiped off the map. Because that's what's going to happen if we don't take them on ASAP."

"I agree," said Tails. "But we can't just leave this village unprotected either. What about Swifty?"

"You mean the psychopath who tried to kill us all?" said Manic. He looked towards the guards that had been dragging Swifty towards the nearest makeshift cell. "Honestly, I think— holy hell!" Everyone else looked toward at the guards. They were lying down on the grass, their throats slit like using a can-opener. And Swifty was nowhere to be found.

"Seriously?!" said Sonia. "Wasn't he just out a minute ago?!"

"It must be due to his speed," said Tails. "I'm guessing he has a high metabolism that lets him wake up from being unconsciouses sooner than most people. It's the same with Sonic."

Antoine rushed over to the guards, taking a good look at their throats. "Their throats must have been slit so fast they could not even scream in pain. Which was probably the idea."

"What'd I tell you?!" said the Minuteman.

"Okay, I get it!" said Amy. "And I'm sorry. But right now, the important thing is taking on those trucks before they get here. If we had the time, I'd wait until Sonic got back, but—"

Just then, a blue blur blew into the village, sweeping away everything in its' path until it stopped just short of Amy and the others. And when the dust cleared, it was none other than—

"Big bro!" said Tails.

"Hey, lil' bro! Miss me?" said Sonic.

Amy breathed a sigh of relief, as though the odds had suddenly tilted considerably in their favor. "You can say that," she said.

Sonic turned towards Amy. "Hey, did somethin' happen? What I'd miss?"

"No time for that," she said. "Take look over there." As it turned out, one look was all it took for Sonic to get the message.

"This again, huh? Well, it's not like it's gonna do them any good. We took em on before, we can do it again!"

"Gaea, I wish had your confidence," said Amy. "In any case, we need to stop those trucks and we need to stop them now. You coming?"

"Did you need to ask?"

"Just wanted to make sure. Let's do it to it, people!" And as everyone either took off for the road or the sky, scrambling back to their bikes if they had them, Amy had to wonder if they really could do it to it.


	46. Rules of War, Chapter 4

"Well now. That ain't something you see every day."

Johnny stared wide-eyed at the ruins before him. It was a mess of old temples and pathways, built with worn yellow brick and white clay. Much of it was covered in grass after only Gaea knew how long, though some of was still surprisingly intact. Tall white pillars dotted the landscape, along with small pools and lakes that submerged the lower parts of the ruins. And in front of each temple was a gigantic statue, all depicting a mighty warrior with a ridged lantern jaw raising his sword toward the heavens. It was grand. It was triumphant. It was—

"Not Mobian."

Johnny turned to Rotor, wondering just what he was going on about. "Not what now?"

"I mean, none of those statues are of Mobians. Or humans for that matter. You'd think it'd be one or the other, but instead it's neither."

"How can you be so sure?" said Chirps. Chirps had been standing at the edge of the ruins along with everyone else. Mina had been fidgeting with her hairband while Shortfuse was wondering why they weren't bashing something in already. Big was busy tending to Froggy, doing his best to keep him from diving into the water and getting himself lost in its' depths. And Sticks was kneeling profusely to whatever non-existent water Gods that may or may not have been living in the waters. ("Oh dear watery God of watery water, hear my pitifully poor excuse for a plea!") Suffice to say, it was business as usual.

"I mean," he said, "for all you know, all these things (which are some of the most obscene tributes to masturbation I've seen, just look at those swords,) could just be some sort of Mobian we've never seen. Maybe there were some kinds of Mobians that died out centuries ago and that's why we've never seen any like these ones."

"Maybe," said Rotor. "But I'm not so sure. And I always want to be sure. It just feels off to me somehow."

Sticks, finally done with her praying, looked up to see the statue for the first time. And promptly fell back down on the ground with horror.

"OH GAEA! Run for the hills! It's the aliens! They've come to suck out your souls and use 'em as ink for their cookbooks! IT'S A COOKBOOK!"

Shortfuse promptly cracked his knuckles. "Hey, if someone doesn't shut her up, can I volunteer? Hell, scratch that; I'll volunteer anyway."

"Well," said Mina, "maybe they are aliens. I mean, they don't really look like any Mobian I've seen."

"Same," said Big. "But somethin' tells me this REALLY shouldn't be our priority. Don't we got a village to save?"

"What village?" said Shortfuse. "Far as I can see, this whole place fell apart ages ago. You really think someone's gonna live in this dump?"

Johnny polished his new staff until it gleamed in the sunlight, like a bright reflection. "According to Sally and Harvey, someone is. Managed to get in touch with them a few weeks ago. Said they'd be willing to help any way they could. Though they really seemed insistent on getting something in return. Anything really. Hell, according to Sally, it almost felt like they were trying to guilt trip 'em."

"Seriously?" said Chirps. "Everyone's tryin' to keep themselves alive and someone wants to give us a pity party? I mean, what are they expecting to get out of it? Mobian Guilt?"

"I don't know. All I know is that apparently they're in Eggman's crosshairs if only because they won't bother to move anywhere else without someone guarding them, and they don't seem too keen on fighting. If they were, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Rotor tapped his goggles, making sure they were in tip-top shape. "I don't know. Something tells me we would've been sent here anyway. I think there might be something in here. Something Eggman and co want. Granted, it's a bit of a jump at this point, but I still think something's up."

"Well, I can't blame you," said Johnny. "This ain't exactly sunshine and lollipops. But I think it's bit early to say that's the reason they're here. Wouldn't put it past 'em though."

"I say," said Big, "we just keep our eyes peeled. Anything that happens, happens. And we'll deal with it when it does."

"Works for me," said Johnny.

Just then, Johnny could hear something rustling in the bushes. He held up a deft hand, motioning everyone to stand still as a post. The bushes continued to rustle and shake, and whispers could be heard from within. After a moment, they suddenly went quiet. The same could have been said of everyone else. No-one made so much as a peep or even tip-toed. It was dead silence all around. Until someone broke it.

"Uh, think they're gone yet?" said Mina. As if on cue, the bushes erupted with a vengeance. Rushing through the leaves was a small horde of ring-tailed lemurs, all wearing nothing but leaves and old tribal dress.

"OH, GAEA!" said Sticks. "IT'S THE CURSE OF THE BUSHY LEMURS! SPAWNED FROM THE BUSHY BUSHES OF , THEY'LL STOP AT NOTHING UNTIL THEY KILL US ALL!"

As if to prove her wrong, the Lemurs stopped themselves in an instant. They stood right in front of Johnny and the others, their big eyes almost starting him down. "Uh, easy there," said Johnny. "We come in peace. You guys have a leader, right? We really want to speak to him. Is he around?"

After a moment, a lemur slightly taller from the others shuffled through the crowd. He bumped into some of the other lemurs and knocked over a few others, but before long, he had made his way to the front. He was wearing some sort of wooden and grass crown, but unlike the other Lemurs, he didn't seem to be very on edge. In fact, he seemed rather relaxed. Overwhelmingly so.

"Hey there!" His voice was laid back and calm to a fault, almost sounding like he was hosting a party. "How ya' doin'? Sorry to startle ya, but we had to be sure you weren't gonna kill us or anything. We're so very sorry if we scared you. If there's any way we can make it up to you, just let us know."

Everyone was taken aback. The other lemurs had been one thing, but somehow, this was another. He seemed less like a chief and more like a talent agent in his disposition. Still, he seemed harmless enough. "Hey there. My name's Johnny and these are the Freedom Fighters. Sally told you about us, right?"

"Yup!" said the chief. "And she also told us there's a bunch of robots coming this way to kill us. This has gotta be the first time we ever got a message through a Flicky! That's somethin', let me tell ya."

"Right. So, you people live here?"

"Yup! Our people have been here for the last couple thousand years. Course, we've managed to keep ourselves a secret from everyone else up till now, but as they say, times change. The wheel was a-turnin', and we could feel it. If we didn't do somethin', we were goners. So we sent someone out to make contact with the rest of the world. And they did not disappoint!"

Mina adjusted her hairband, making sure it was properly placed. "Uh, sure! Thanks. I guess."

"In any case, I don't think I've introduced myself. My name's Chief Gogoba, and this here is the Gogoba tribe. In any case, we've already got some people ready to evacuate. Everyone else is gonna stay and do their part. It's the least we can do."

"I appreciate that," said Johnny. "We need all the help we can get."

The Chief raised his finger as if to say 'But.' "That said. We've still got some clothes and supplies back in the village and we were so focused on getting here that we completely forgot about them. We'd get 'em ourselves, but going there and back would be such an inconvenience, and some of us have some REALLY bad backs. Do you think you could go over and get 'em for us? It's the least you could do."

Things were starting to get a wee bit fishy. "Sorry," said Johhny, "but this isn't the best place to be talkin' bout that sort of thing."

"If you say so," said the Chief. "Just figured I should ask. It was worth a shot. That said, it could take a while to evacuate, and we might not be fast enough. Do you think you could personally help us move somewhere safe and sound? I'm sure you have so much else to do, but we've never really done something like this before and we would be so scared and confused without someone to get us there. Might even accidentally drown ourselves in the river, we're so helpless. Just sayin'."

Johnny was beginning to wonder if perhaps these Gogoba's or whatever they called themselves were the victims of water poisoning. Either way, either they thought they were all idiots or they themselves were idiots. Not that they wouldn't mind helping, but the way the Gogoba's were going about asking for that help was nothing short of guilt-tripping.

"Oh!" said the Chief, as if remembering something essential. "And do you think you could scratch my back while you're at it? It's really tough to get there sometimes, and if I don't get it soon, I might get so depressed that I'll just stab myself in the chest and get it over with! If you don't mind, it'd really help me ease up a bit!"

Just then, Chirps stepped forward. "Allow me, boss." He glared at the Gogoba's, looking them straight in their eyes while smiling like the devil. "You know, there's any number of things I could do right now. I could try to beat you at your own game. Say I had a bad ankle or a cramp. Maybe my arm's broken. Hell, maybe even that Eggman showed up out of the blue and we needed all the help we could get. But I ain't gonna stoop to your level. Instead, I'm just gonna make thing nice and simple."

Chirps raised his hand upward. Several spears of stone shot out of the ground in the space of a wink, surrounding the Golgobas before sinking back into the earth the way they came. "Cut the crap or else you're gonna be wondering what you should really be tryin' to save yourselves from. Got me?"

The Chief gulped, most of his words lost in his throat. He was only able to get two out, but even they were muddled by a sheer sense of fear and dread. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Everyone who's planning on evacuating, get yourselves ready to go. Everyone else, just pay attention and you won't have a thing to worry about. From them or me. Understand?"

"Perfectly."

"Good. Glad we had this talk. He walked back over to Johnny and the others, not really caring whether or not they approved of his strong-arm tactics. For the record, Johnny did not.

"You didn't need to go that far," he said.

"Same here," said Big. "You might as well've just pointed a gun at'em and told 'em to do things your way or else. That's not really gonna make 'em learn why what they're doin' is wrong. Just that a big scary Mobian might skewer 'em if they don't do what he says.

"It got 'em in line, didn't it?" said Chirps. Besides, you're the one who said to show 'em the real me. I'm doing just that."

"Yeah, maybe I should've rephrased that."

"Hey, if we're done," said Rotor, "do you think we could get a move on? The more time we waste here, the less time we have to evacuate and get ready.

"Yeah," said Johnny. "Guess we'll just have to make do." He turned to the Gogoba's, his mind completely on the mission. "So in case you couldn't tell, we don't much care for people putzing around or wasting our time. With that said, are you gonna help, or are we gonna have to take drastic measures?"

The Chief looked at Johnny and Chirps for the longest time before shrugging his shoulders in defeat. "You've got me! Sorry about that whole guilt-tripping nonsense. Old habits die hard."

"Uh, so, are you gonna go evacuate?" said Mina. "Without any guilt-tripping? Because I think that's a no-no. Or maybe that's just me?"

"Hold on a minute." Like a rising flower, Johnny's ears picked up. He could hear something in the distance. Several something's. They weren't all that fast, but they were loud, and they were getting closer.

"You hear something?" said Mina.

"Yeah," said Johnny. "Somethin's comin' this way. Probably Eggman's forces. Maybe some convoys."

"I'm hearin' them too," said Big, his long ears twitching as much as Johnny's were. "There's a lot of 'em."

"Does this mean we can stop twiddling our thumbs and go kick some ass?" said Shortfuse.

"It means we get as many people out of here as we can," said Johnny. He turned to the Gogoba's. 'Everyone evacuating, form one line to the left. Everyone staying, to the right." Almost unanimously, nearly every single Gogoba moved to the left, with only a few nervous Gogobas staying behind on the right. Most notably, the line on the left included the Chief, front and center.

"So you're all just gonna turn tail and run?" said Chirps. "Fine by me. Just didn't think so many of you were yellow."

Johnny placed his hand on Chirps' shoulder, letting him know the score. "Chirps. I know where you're comin' from, but this isn't the time. Understand me?" He turned back to the Gogoba's. "You all want to leave, I'm not stopping you. After all, we're here to keep you guys safe. But we also need all the help we can get. If any of you can fight, if you've got spears, swords, anything, well, every little bit counts."

The Chief twiddled his thumbs, as though the very thought of being asked to help made him nervous beyond belief. "Ah, well, we'd love to help, really, we would, but a lot of us have such bad cases of anxiety's, we'd probably have a heart attack or something the second we set foot in there. But if you want a bunch of corpses on your conscience, we'd be happy to oblige."

"Let 'em go, kid," said Big to Johnny. "They wanna run, let 'em run. We'll just have to make do."

"Thank you kindly," said the Chief. "Really, I mean that."

"That said, it sure would be a shame if somethin' happened."

That got the Chief's attention. "Come again?"

"Well, I'm just sayin', I don't know if even all of us together is gonna be enough to hold off all of Eggman's forces here. Not this time. And if we go down, it won't be long before they come after all'a you. If we had just a bit more help, maybe we could even the odds, but I guess we'll have to settle for what we've got. Anyway, good luck to ya!"

After a moment, more than half of the Gogobas ran over to the left, leaving only the children, their mothers, and the Chief.

Shotfuse whistled as though he could scarcely believe it. "Well, would ya look at that? Guess some of you got stones after all."

The Chief began to shake and cower, as though he were wondering if trying to run away from the battle of their lives was indeed the best choice. "Uh, well. I guess you've got some help after all. How about that?"

"How about that," said Chirps. "That really just leaves you. Or are you gonna let your people fight all alone? 'Bill, where's the Chief?!' 'I don't know, Bob, I think he's busy sipping a martini in Casinopolis!' Is that really what you wanna down as?"

"But—"

"But nothin'! Under ordinary circumstances, leavin' would be one thing, but this is war! And in a war, everyone needs to do their part or everyone's gonna kick it. And the warriors need their chief. Understand me?"

The Chief stuttered and started, not really sure what to say as if he were some ordinary peasant put on trial. But after a moment, he stopped. And he saw his image in one of the pools of water scattered around the ruins. And he saw what he had become. And in that moment, he remembered what he used to be.

His back straightened. His gaze hardened. And his expression did so as well. It was almost as if he were a changed Mobian. For better or worse. "Men! Go get the weapons from the tents! We're staying! For are we or are not the Gogoba's?!"

At first, the men weren't sure what to think. They stuttered and started, wondering if this was the king that had led them all these years. But after a moment, they realized that it wasn't that king. It was the king that used to lead them. The king that had led them to victory time and again. The king of old. And they remembered who THEY used to be. And as if unison, they all pumped their fists into the air and shouted in joy to the heavens.

For her part, Sticks did the same. "WHOO! GO GOGOBA'S! HECK YEAH! Psst! What's a Gogoba?"

"Right,' said Johnny. "Mina?"

"Got it!" In the wink of an eye, Mina and the remaining line were gone in a flash, presumably to somewhere safe.

"Everyone ready?" said Johnny.

"We're with you!" said the Chief of the Gogobas, his legs knocking. "Though to be honest, I haven't done this in a while."

"Hey, you'll be fine," said Big. "Just leave the grunt work to us."

Just then, the sounds of the convoys' engines became louder. They were gaining speed and intensity and growing ever closer.

"That don't sound good," said Sticks.

"Maybe," said Johnny. "But we've got the advantage. You see that stretch of land over there?" He pointed towards a stretch of long, wet grass in the direction the noises were coming from. There were deep pools of water on each side, and the width of the land that was still above water was just large enough for one truck.

"Talk about serendipity," said Chirps. "They've got to come in one at a time. Either that or they'll have to park and come out on foot. Either way…"

"They'll be fish in a barrel."

"Really?!" said Sticks. "I love fishies! They're so cute and tasty! Can't say the same about catfish though. Have you seen those whiskers? That ain't natural. In fact—"

"Sticks, not the time," said Johnny.

"Oh! Right. Serious. I can do serious. I'm always serious. Just don't blame me if one of those things sucks your brain out when you're not looking, I'm tellin' ya!"

"That's funny," said Shortfuse, "because I don't think you've even got a brain for them to suck!"

"Everyone," said Johnny, "QUIET!" Everyone was suddenly as silent as the grave. And so were the engines. They were as quiet as a mouse. And that meant only one thing.

"They're here."


	47. Rules of War, Chapter 5

By now, the Freedom Fighters in Emerald Hill were in the middle of it. As soon as the convoys saw Sonic and the others speeding along, they stopped dead in their tracks and unleashed the troops onto the battlefields. There were SWATbots, Troopers, and all sorts of badniks up the whazoo. Floating spike balls, robotic monkeys, and more besides. Not that it deterred Sonic and co any. Sonic was buzzing through bots left and right while Manic was smashing them with his ring. Tails was flying about with an experimental ray-gun and blasting them from afar, while Antoine was dodging their blows and blasts and striking them clean through with a sword stronger than any he had ever held. Bunnie was switching between bashing them up and close personal and raining down death from above. It more or less depended on her mood.

Throughout it all, Amy was commanding the lot of from the rear while getting in potshots with her laser crossbow when she could. The Minutemen were also under her control, and while they weren't as powerful or effective as the Freedom Fighters, they still more than did their fair share. After all, there was still such a thing as strength in numbers. With her at the helm, her batch of Freedom Fighters was a well-oiled fighting machine, ready for any challenges that came up.

That just left Sonia. Sonia had done little more than run around the battlefield, shooting at anything resembling a bot and doing everything she could to stay alive. But mostly, she had been fixated on the crystal. She knew what Tails had told her to do, but she still couldn't get it to work. Apparently, it required more than just fixing some circuits, but she couldn't quite remember the rest. She thought back to everything. Everything she had been through. Everything from the present and everything from her past. And she wondered that even if they got it working if she had what it took to use it. Or if she had a future. But that didn't matter. None of it mattered. And nothing would matter if she didn't do something NOW!

And then it happened.

"Uh, guys?" Sonia's whole body began to glow. It was brightening, getting brighter and brighter and turning ever more purple. "Guys? Could use a little help here!" Her clothes rapidly vanished, disappearing into herself "(Eek!)", and her entire body was becoming ever lighter and lighter until—

"OH HELL!"

A massive, blinding blast of energy was unleashed from Sonia's body, demolishing everything around her. Bots included. She felt… different somehow. Even when the dust settled, she couldn't bear to open her eyes. Not that she could feel her eyes. Or much of anything. In fact, she couldn't feel herself at all. But she still couldn't just stand there and do nothing. And so, against her better judgment, she opened them wide.

The first thing she noticed was that everything was a lot more purple. She could still make it all out well enough, but it was all still a lot more colorful. The other thing was when she looked down. For all intents and purposes, her body was no longer a body. Not in the traditional sense. It was more of a purple energy construct that looked like a body. And it was hers.

"Oh Gaea, I'm a purple Manic ring… thing. I think. And I'm naked! 'Cept I don't have any naked bits. Wait, what?"

That was the third thing she noticed. Her form was au' natural, but she didn't possess anything that actually was natural. It was as if someone had put her entire body on PG and removed any questionable content. "Well. On the one hand, I guess I don't need any clothes. On the other hand, WHAT THE HELL?!"

Not that she had any time to think about it. Having gotten over the initial shock, more robots were closing in, and they were all unleashing hell on Sonia. Or at least they tried. They tried so hard that it almost made Sonia made cower in fear. But as she did her best to hide in plain sight (and fail miserably at it), she soon realized one fundamental fact. Which was that she couldn't feel a thing.

Under normal circumstances, this would be a very lamentable thing. Not being able to feel the cool winds caress her cheeks or the warm rays of summer sun beating down on her. Or a lover's kiss. But seeing as these weren't normal circumstances, it didn't mean a thing.

Sonia couldn't feel a single laser blast as they shot into her. In fact, it was actually somewhat tasty. "Tastes like chicken!" Instead, she absorbed it into her. Every single blast only added to her and amplified her strength. Not that she knew how she knew this, but she knew. And she also began to know other things. Things about how her new 'body' worked. How it functioned. And how to use it to beat the living hell out of anyone that crossed her.

"Okay, no time for existential angst! Long as I'm like this, I might as well use it! You all ready to get Sonia-ized?!" She braced her wrists together, letting loose another wave of energy that thrashed everyone and everything around her. She lifted herself off the ground until she was hovering in mid-air and charged into the enemy head-first.

Sonia was now as strong as could be. And she reveled in it. It was almost enough to forget one had been fully Mobian just a few minutes ago. In any case, she decided it was time to play hardball. She closed her eyes and focused as though the secrets of the universe were at her beck and call. Not that they were, but still. She then began to radically shrink and condense herself until nothing but one single purple laser remained. And it started shooting straight through the bots like an epidemic.

She zipped and zagged, darting through the bots and bringing them down while absorbing enemy fire in the process. Tails looked down from above as he rained destruction from the same place. "Sonia? She must have gotten it working!" He then took a closer look. And saw exactly what he had unleashed. "Oh. Didn't expect THAT." He started to think of how Sonia would react when the dust settled and the adrenaline wore off. And he gulped as though he were taking the most gargantuan swallow of water imaginable. "I'm a dead fox."

With Sonia finally becoming a force to be reckoned with, the tides seemed to be turning in the Freedom Fighter's favor. The bots were slowly but steadily being vanquished, and while the FF were had taken some hits, it was nothing they wouldn't bounce back from. It was a heck of a show. One that someone was eagerly recording. A small, tiny device had flown into the battle, floating high above even Tails' little head and watching it all from above. And it saw everything. At which there was only one very salient question: Why?

* * *

"Well now, this is a delight!"

Eggman watched the monitor in the Control Room with glee, like a child watching his favorite cartoon. "Just when it seems they might not have what it takes, BLAM! They throw you a curveball."

Eggman looked away from the monitor towards Chuck. He was standing with handcuffs in the center of the room and had been watching the proceedings like a father concerned about his son.

"So! What do you think?"

Chuck was too busy trying to unlock his restraints around his wrist to care. "You go and attack my nephew, even my niece in broad daylight and you expect me to tell you what I think? Well, I've only got one thing to say to that. Not that I can say it without being taken out back and shot though, I'm sure."

"Did I say that?" said Eggman.

"No, to be honest," said Chuck. "But I'm willing to bet that's how it would happen you ever did take control of Mobius. Not too different from how GUN used to handle things, really."

Eggman's face suddenly turned red like fire. He was absolutely livid. "DON'T. YOU. DARE."

"Oh, I'll dare. If this were about your grandfather, that would be one thing. But if it were, you wouldn't have even bothered trying to take over one little kingdom in the boonies. You would've gone straight after GUN. You would've tried to take them down from within and without. Instead, you're playing the Mad Genius, desperate to be remembered. And trying to harm my niece, nephew, and everyone else in the process! Tell me. How is this any better than what GUN did? I'm dying to know the answer."

"That is enough!"Eggman stomped over to Chuck and lifted him up by the throat, desperately trying to strangle so him so he would just. Shut. UP! "How dare you! HOW DARE YOU! I AM FAR BETTER THAN THOSE CRETINS WERE! THAN ANYONE EVER WAS! FAR BETTER THAN YOU! WHEN I'M THROUGH WITH YOU—"

Just then, the door to the Control Room opened with Grimer stepping right inside. "Ah, Julian! I trust things are going—"

Eggman stopped his stranglehold dead in its' tracks. He looked at Grimer as though he had a sudden case of stage fright, though his hold on Chuck hadn't lessened. For his part, Chuck tried to wave hello, not that he was in much of a position to do so just then.

"Chuck!" said Grimer. "Uh, hello. It has been a while, hasn't it? If I may say so, I honestly did not expect to see you like THIS. Julian, don't you think it would be a good idea to put our most esteemed prisoner down before you strangle him to death? If you want to prove to everyone you actually have a case, this isn't helping it."

Eggman looked at Grimer. Then back at Chuck. Then back at Grimer. Then back at Chuck. Until finally, his rage lessened, and he slowly put Chuck back down on the ground like placing a priceless statue.

"Well now," said Grimer. "Good to see you again, Chuck." He eyed Eggman as though he had been keeping his right hand from Grimer's left. "I wasn't aware you were here. Or why such a good, old friend is being kept in chains. Of course, I'm sure there's a perfectly good explanation. Isn't there?"

For the first time in ages, Eggman knew that he was NOT the one with the power. Even if it was only for a moment, Grimer was now the one calling the shots. He stuttered and started, fumbling about for the right answer to please the only person he would ever dare listen to, if only for a minute or two. "Uh, ahem, that is to say. I was only making sure that our guest was properly protected from himself! You know Mobians. They have their uses, but in the end, they only end up hurting themselves."

"Even if that were true, and I am quite sure it isn't, Chuck is an old friend. Or at least he was supposed to be. And you don't have too many of those these days."

The aforementioned moment was beginning to pass. Eggman's veins began to bulge, nearly bursting from his skin as he barely struggled to retain his rage. "You call this THING a friend?! Do friends insult one another?! Do they accuse them of being nothing more than selfish bastards who only care about themselves?! Because if they do, then I personally don't much care for them! If you don't mind me saying so."

Grimer stood silent like a tree, his eyes open wide. As though he could scarcely comprehend what he had just heard. "Excuse me?"

Eggman quickly caught himself and backpedaled like the dickens. "Uh, that is to say, I don't much care for friends… except you, that is."

"I'm sure," said Grimer. "In any case, were you planning to do him harm or not?"

"Does it matter if I say 'yes?"

Grimer folded his arms as though the answer should have been obvious. "What do you think?"

"You know," said Chuck, "I'm impressed you're going to such lengths to keep me from getting the daylights strangled out of me, Grimer. Seeing as you haven't really done the same for anyone else."

"Everyone else is simply a causality of war. You are an exception."

"And why's that? Because you know me? Just because we spent a few years in college together, I should get special treatment? Makes you sound like a hypocrite, doesn't it?"

Grimer looked both directions as though he were crossing the street before whispering directly into Chuck's ear. "For once, could you please quit the moral grandstanding and just allow me to save you from being turned into roadkill?! You want to play the hero, fine, but you might want to do so after I get you out of here!"

"Something you wish to share with the class, Grimer?" said Eggman.

"Not really, no," said Grimer. "Simply advising our dear guest not to kick the hornet's nest if he knew what was good for him. Although I don't think that leaving him out here in the Control Room will do anyone any good. Might it not be better to bring him back to his cell where he can spend some time reflecting on the error of his ways?"

Eggman placed a gloved hand over his mouth as if deeply contemplating his next course of action. "Not just yet. I still haven't proved my point."

"Which is?"

"That no matter what he or anyone does, no matter what his niece or nephew do, there is no stopping me. Perhaps they have enough raw power to take down hordes of cannon fodder, but the full might of my Egg Bosses is another story. Never mind that I've got something else I've got up my sleeve."

"And what would that be?" said Chuck. "I'm curious."

Eggman pushed back his glasses, smiling like the devil. "Remember when you noticed those robotized Mobians on your way into Robotropolis?"

"Yup. One of the most horrifying things I've ever seen. What about it?"

"You hadn't visited in ages, I'm sure, so you probably didn't know. But the city is currently missing a tenth of its' population. Would you like to know where it is?"

It took a while for the full impact of this declaration to fully sink in. And once it did, it hit Chuck like a blow to the gut.

"You didn't."

For once in his life, Grimer almost seemed to feel the same way. Almost. "Sir. Excuse me for asking this out of the blue, but is there a reason you've kept me busy working on our two special projects for the last week while you were busy arranging our deployment forces? Because I believe I am entitled to know."

"Don't tell me you actually give a damn about any of this." Chuck was unconvinced that the same man who had willingly helped Eggman commit so many grievous wrongs would actually be concerned about such a thing.

"Let us simply say that I see no value in letting such a valuable commodity go to waste. Which is what I'm concerned you may be doing."

"No matter," said Eggman. "Besides, they still have to stand up against the Eggbosses. If they manage to take those Freedom Fighters out, there won't be any need to deploy anyone else.

This didn't please Grimer in the least. "But you still sent them."

Eggman was not amused. "Whatever. In any event, let us see if they have any more luck this time than the last few times, hm?"

"Speaking of which, there's been something I've been meaning to talk to you about. You possess a robotic army of sufficient numbers that would under normal circumstances be enough to take the entire island hostage, nevermind your crack squads of Eggbosses and mercenaries, yet you continue to be upstaged by a ragtag band of rebels led by a teenage squirrel and her small band of plucky friends. Don't you think it's time to consider a different tact?"

"Oh, Grimer, I'm surprised you would think so little of me! You do remember all of those special projects we're working on, don't you?"

"I do. But I'm not sure it will be enough. It honestly defies all reason. By all rights, one group of freedom fighters should not be enough to take on entire hordes of robots regardless of how powerful they are! Nevermind if they can rally the rest of the island. I can't help but feel as if there's more to this than we know. Some sort of unseen force or cosmic rule of nature that would make such a thing possible. I'm just not sure what it is."

Chuck massaged his thick, bushy mustache between two fingers, almost getting a kick out of Grimer trying to make excuses for what he saw as the obvious. "Or you could just accept that the both of you don't know what the hell you're doing and that my nephew and niece and all their friends are just that good. And that maybe it'd be best to pack it up and call it a day."

Eggman could barely hold himself in. "SHUT UP! Unless you want me to strangle you again?"

"Heaven forbid."

"Calm yourself, Julian," said Grimer. "Think of it this way. If you lash out, he wins. If he hasn't already."

Eggman took another deep breath, doing his best to remember that book on zen he read during summer camp all those years ago. "You're right. You're quite right, Grimer. Besides, I have more important things to worry about. Such as whether or not I'll have to play hardball." He turned his attention back to the screen, hoping that the Eggbosses would be enough. But if they weren't, then those pesky Freedom Fighters would be in for a heck of a surprise.

* * *

By this point, Amy's Freedom Fighters were in the thick of it. Hordes of robots and badniks had been totaled left and right. The only reason the plains didn't resemble a junkheap was that they were so gargantuan, but they were still spread out as far as the eye could see. As for the FF, they were battered, bruised, and breathing like there was no tomorrow, but they were still standing.

That said, even Sonic was starting to feel the strain. He stood in the middle of the battlefield, holding up his back as though his quills could come off any minute. "Uh, well. That was fun! But also kinda a mess. Just how many of those guys were there?!"

Tails flew back down from the skies ahead, almost spiraling with how fast he was plummeting. "A lot. I think. Honestly, I'm pooped."

Amy walked over to the others. Out of all them, she was probably the worse for wear. Trickles of blood were streaming down her right shoulder, and as much as she tried to stop it with her other hand, it just kept coming. "Everyone okay? Did we get them all?"

"Maybe?" said Manic. "We got most of the bots, I think. The militia and some of the others are doing clean-up. Still took a while though. I'm surprised my ring hasn't needed a recharge."

"All I wanna know is, WHERE'S THAT DAMN FOX?!" Sonia stormed into the growing circle of freedom fighters, still glowing and pink and non-fleshy. Tails hid behind Sonic's legs, desperate not to be skewered alive. And everyone else couldn't help but stare. "YOU DIDN'T SAY THIS WAS GONNA HAPPEN! I'M A WALKING PINK LIGHTBULB! LET'S PUT THE CRYSTAL ON YOU, SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!" She tried to rip it off, but as much as she tried, it was stuck. "Huh. Well, how do ya' like that?"

"WHOA! You okay, Sonia?!"

"Uh, I'm fine, I guess? It's kinda weird, but I'm still alive and kicking. And I can do a buncha cool stuff! BUT I'M STILL A WALKING LIGHTBULB! WHERE'S THE DAMN FOX?!"

Sonic raised his hand in a desperate attempt to change the subject. "Ah, well—"

It happened before they could blink. Before they knew it, a green blur swooped in and rammed into Sonic. The two merged together, forming one green-blue mishmash that raced across the plains like a runaway train. It went up, down, left, right, all around and back again, and didn't have any rhyme or reason other than the need to RUN.

"What the hell was that?!" said Sonia.

"It's got to be Swifty!" said Tails. "He must've swooped in and grabbed Sonic before we could blink. And now—"

"And now they're racing across the plains like no tomorrow," said Amy. "Just great."

"Hey," said Sonia, "I know I'm still kinda working this out, but I might be able to help! I can turn myself into this sorta laser or whatever, and when I do, I'm nearly as fast as Sonic! I think. Can't do all the crazy things he can, but it's something!"

"Fine!" said Amy. "As is, they're too evenly matched! Something needs to tip the balance. And I guess you're it."

"Alright!" Sonia condensed herself into a pink laser once and more and flew into action, aiming herself towards the racing blur.

"Hey, Tails?"

"Yes, Amy?" said Tails.

"Did you know that crystal would turn Sonia into a walking lightbulb?"

"Uh, not really. I just thought it would give her energy powers. Firing energy blasts of her hands, maybe some basic flight. Something like that."

"So you didn't know it'd actually turn her INTO energy?"

"No, not really. But we can't always test these things in advance either. They're tuned to a specific person. In most cases, only that person can wield it. But we usually still have a pretty good idea what these things do regardless."

"But not this time?"

"Apparently not."

"Uh-huh." Amy pinched her nose, as though she couldn't believe the sheer amount of incompetence on display. "You know you're a dead fox, right?"

"It's been starting to sink in, yes. But that said- LOOK OUT!" Tails jetted up just enough to tackle Amy and bring her flat to the ground. A massive blast of energy suddenly flared toward the both of them, threatening to vaporize Amy and Tails both. Manic managed to get a shield up just in time, but a millisecond later and Tails and Amy would've been toast if they hadn't ducked.

"Heads up, people!" said Manic. "We've got company!" Little did they know just kind of company they'd receive.


	48. Rules of War, Chapter 6

Standing in front of a small truck was none other than Sleet, and he wasn't happy. He held out an open palm, still smoking from the blast it sent out, and he was not at all pleased that he missed his target. "Pity. I do so hate when things become complicated." Standing next to him were Dingo, Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts, the latter three as good as new.

That just left Thunderbolt. She was slumped over in the back, her face turned away from everyone else. As though she wasn't quite sure whether or not she wanted to be there. Not that anyone else seemed to care.

"We gotcha now!" said Grounder. "You may have taken out all those bots, but now you're pooped! Now you've got to face the REAL pros!"

Sleet banged Grounder's head with his metal arm. Not that Grounder could feel pain in the least, but being knocked on the head was still the slightest demoralizing if nothing else. "The day you become a pro is the day I become a blithering simpleton! Which is what you are in case you wanted to know."

"Hey! I'm not a simpleton! You're the simpleton! So there!" And all Coconuts could do was slide his palm over his face out of annoyance.

"Manic!" said Amy. "Box 'em! Now!"

Manic's ring lit up and a large green box surrounded Sleet and the rest, effectively keeping them contained. Or at least that's what they hoped.

Sleet shook his head, as though he couldn't believe they would even make such an effort. "Pitiful. Dingo? Grounder?" Without a moment's notice, Sleet began pounding on the front wall of the box. Dingo turned his arms into sledgehammers and did the same, and Grounder just kept firing away hoping something would happen. As for Thunderbolt, she still merely stood there. Not really helping, not wanting to help, and not doing much of anything. She could have helped if she wished to. She certainly had the power to spare. But for whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to do it.

Not that it mattered. The strain on Manic's face was plain as day. Try as he might, it wasn't enough. In a manner of seconds, the box was shattered, and Manic yelped in pain from the backlash. "GAEA that smarts!"

Amy gritted her teeth. She didn't see very many options. They were outnumbered and outgunned. Sonic was busy dealing with someone just as fast as him, Sonia was providing support, and Bunnie and Antoine were—

"Miss me, sugar?"

—apparently right above them. Bunnie was flying high above and carrying Antoine in his arms like a baby, and she didn't have to be a genius to know everyone was in trouble. Like a pitcher, she wound up Antonie like a baseball ("OHGAEAOHGAEAOHGAEA—!" and hurled him at the opposition, lobbing him sword fist like a missile.

"Grounder!" said Sleet, pointing towards Antoine as though he were warning everyone of an incoming bomb.

"Right on it, boss!" Grounder let loose at Antoine, intent on vaporizing him into nothing but smoke. Not that it stood a prayer of working. Yelping like a ninny, Antoine pressed a button on his sword, activating a force-field in the process.

"DINGO!" Sleet didn't even have to ask twice. Dingo promptly turned himself into a small, sturdy building, doing his best to protect everyone from the incoming force-field. Not that it worked. Tails and Amy fired a shot at Grounder and Coconuts each, the both of them so mystified by the threat above that they didn't have a clue of what was going on around them. Tails aimed at Scratch, rendering him one giant pile of scrap heap.

He tried to aim at Thunderbolt. He really did. But for one reason or another, he just couldn't do it. Especially not after looking straight into her eyes. At that moment, she reminded him of how he was when his parents died. Lost. Confused. Uncertain. Not knowing where to go from here. He wasn't sure what to think of her, but he was near sure of one thing: She didn't want to fight. However, she didn't want to be crushed by a force-field either. She was scampering as far away from the truck as she could, desperate to live another day. If nothing else, she was a smart one. Not that he could say the same about the others.

Dingo tried to shift himself into a speedy little hummingbird and attempted to leap away at the last second but to no avail. The forcefield crashed into Sleet and Dingo and flattened them against the plains, rending the former battered and bent and the latter frazzled as though he'd knocked his head. Antoine promptly rebounded from the recoil, but Bunnie snatched him up before he could fly into the stratosphere. "NEVER. DO THAT. AGAIN."

"Sorry, hon," said Bunnie. "Really. And sorry I couldn't get here sooner, ya alls!" Bunnie jetted to the ground, extending her metal arm in the process. "But we kinda had some mopping up to do elsewhere."

"Thanks for the save, Bunnie!" Tails and she took aim, adjusting their sights straight for Sleet: Still standing, still tough, but still wounded. And still cackling like he held all the cards. His voice was low and hoarse, and yet in some ways was just as strong as it ever was. Perhaps stronger.

"Clever. Very clever. In fact. You ought to be commended. Even I would never have thought of something that brazen. But it wasn't brazen enough. For you see, when a wolf is cornered, they can still. Bite. BACK!" He launched a blast of energy at Amy and Tails and then flew up into the air, his legs emitting flares of jetfire at their soles and blasting him forward. He barreled at Bunnie, his jaws wide and his teeth bare, ready to tear off the one limb of flesh and blood that remained.

Amy and Tails ducked once more, just managing to evade the blast as they felt its' power graze the backs of their clothing. (Or the tips of Tail's fur in his case.) As for Antoine and Bunnie, they weren't about to take Sleet's rampage lying down. Antoine pressed another button on his sword and slashed straight into the air, letting out a tall and narrow slice of energy that he hoped would bring Sleet down to size. Not that it worked. He lifted up his legs and flew around it, letting the attack give several blades of grass a good clipping. If nothing else, it was an 'A' for effort.

In any case, Bunnie had a plan, but she knew she wasn't going to like it. Nor was Antoine. "Sorry, sugar!" Before Antoine could so much as protest, Bunnie dropped him to the ground, hoping he'd do what she thought he would. Which he did. Just before he hit the ground, he activated his force-field at a lower setting, harmlessly bouncing down upon the grass like rolling around in a hamster ball. Not that it didn't stop him from whimpering the whole way there, but at least he was alive. Which was what mattered

And what also mattered was taking care of Sleet. But if she guessed right, she knew that no matter what he did, he was screwed. She held out her Mobian arm, displaying it for all to see and giving Sleet an easy target. And with one huge, savage chomp like a mighty tiger, he did so.

Or at least he tried to. But he couldn't. At all. Oh, he had bitten down alright. And he knew it was her flesh and blood arm he was chomping on. But it didn't feel much like it. It felt hard and tough, almost like a rock. And his teeth nearly shattered to pieces as a result. He howled in pain, livid at being made a fool. (And at being in pain, because who wouldn't?) "What did you do?!"

"Simple, sugar. See, this little arm here? It ain't exactly normal no more. Turns out, turning part of my bod' into metal wasn't the only thing you did with it. You also exposed the rest of it to some sort of strange chemical or somethin'. Somethin' that makes the whole thing possible. Well, guess what? It worked! Because now the rest of my body's trying to match up with my robot half. So among other things, I've now got a left arm that's just as strong as my right. Wanna test it?"

As Bunnie was busy giving the growling Sleet a lecture, Amy saw her chance. Though she wasn't sure it was one she wanted to take. She aimed her laser crossbow at Sleet, the back of his head square in her sights. She had him, right there. If she just ended this now, she could take one essential piece off the board. After all, this was war, wasn't it? Kill or be killed. Simple. Easy.

Except it wasn't. She would still be committing murder. She would still be going against everything she believed. But if she didn't, then she would be letting an accomplice to a hostile takeover go free. How many people would he kill before the next time around? How many—

And then he lunged for the neck.

As it turned out, the choice had been made for her. Antoine thrust forward with his sword and let loose a straight line of energy as Sleet made his move, this time aiming it right through Sleet's heart and letting out a pained whimper as he did so. Ordinarily, Sleet might have been able to notice. He might have been able to dodge it. Fire a blast of his own at it. Anything. But he was still stunned from biting Bunnie's arm, and too angry to think about anything else other than tearing her from limb to limb. And so as he lunged for her neck, claws first, he didn't so much as notice that red and yellow blast pierce his chest until it was too late. He plopped to the ground with a thud. And all everyone else could do was watch in awe as his blood slowly but surely flowed into the thick, deep grass below him.

Everyone was in silence. Silence and shock. Antoine especially. He held his sword in front of him shaking like a leaf, and yet, he was still standing. And his overall poise was as firm and resolute as that of the finest soldier. As if part of him believed he did what had to be done.

After a moment, everyone finally bothered to speak up. "Uh, guys?" said Manic. "I think he's dead." Sleet didn't move a muscle. Nor did he breathe so much as a whisper. His face was deep down in the grass and he didn't budge an inch. And for all they knew, he was there to stay.

"Antoine!" said Bunnie. "You okay?"

Antoine was still shaking, almost like a vibrator. His teeth were chattering and he was mumbling, but in spite of that, it almost seemed like he was at least trying to say something concrete.

Tails was almost in shock. As most twelve-year-olds would be at seeing such a sight. And he couldn't bring himself to say a word. No-one could. Until at last, Antoine finally did.

"I, that is, I did not mean to do it! Except I actually did. Except I didn't! Except I did! I do not know what I mean!"

"Relax, sugar." Bunnie floated down to the ground as she made a soft landing. She took a moment to gaze at Sleet before pushing away Antoine's sword with her Mobian hand and hugging him like she had never hugged anyone before. "You were trying to save me. That's all. That's all it was."

Amy still wasn't sure what to think. She'd nearly done the same thing. Nearly brought him down for the count. Nearly put a bolt straight through his brain. And for much the same reasons. But in the end, she didn't. And she didn't know whether it was because Antoine got there first or not. All she knew was that she had him in her sights. And she couldn't do it. And the scariest part was that she didn't know whether or not letting him live would've been the correct route to take.

"You okay, Amy?" said Manic

"Fine, Manic. Thanks. Just thinking."

Amy sighed. In any case, there was time to ponder the nature of war another day. Most of Eggman's forces had been grounded to a halt on their end. And that just left Thunderbolt. Amy raised her weapon, pointing it straight at Thunderbolt's noggin. And she still couldn't care less.

"Okay," she said. "Just take it easy, alright? No-one wants to hurt you—"

"LOOK OUT!"

It came at her like being knocked away like a car. Amy was blown away by something or someone before she could blink, And as she came to, she could see who it was: a twirling, bubbling, large orange mass with tentacles up the whazoo. "That you, luv'? If it is, then I'm glad. Because I want to show ya somethin'. And that's NOT TO FUCK WITH ME!" And as Dingo let out a long, sharp tendril, she had to wonder if for once she was truly and utterly screwed.


	49. Rules of War, Chapter 7

"HELL!"

A massive wall of green hard-light sprung up right in front of Amy, almost as if from the ether. The tentacle smashed into it, slamming with the force of a yacht. The wall then grew and expanded into a sharp-edged box, cutting off Dingo's appendage like slicing sushi. He howled in pain despite currently not having any visible mouth to speak of, his mass vibrating and quivering from having a limb lopped off. Not that it mattered. Another quickly grew in its' place, and it reached right over the box as it made another attempt to give Amy a beheading. Manic stopped it and two others with yet another wall, but his face was strained. If it wasn't clear before, it was now. He couldn't keep this up forever.

Meanwhile, Bunnie, Antoine, and Tails were dealing with their own predicaments. A tendril reached out to each of them, all seeking to pull their targets into Dingo's slimy mass and suffocate them to death. Either that or stab them in the heart first. Bunnie and Tails zipped around in the air with ease, almost like jetfighters evading enemy fire.

Antoine followed suit, pressing another button on the hilt of his sword as it emitted an invisible field that lifted him up as though he were as light as air. Just as Johnny's staff lifted him. He did have some practice with this new trick before using it, but it wasn't as though it prepared him for the real thing. Or at the very least for using it in the midst of a battle. He hollered and yelled, almost hanging on to his weapon haphazardly, though he still managed to evade Dingo's vicious strike. And then he had an idea.

"Tails, Bunnie!" he said. "Follow my lead!" Given their current predicament, it wasn't as though they had much choice. Antoine charged straight ahead like a missile, and Tail and Bunnie did so in kind. The tendrils chased after them, practically nipping right on their heels and crossing over one another as they did so. As they did, the three of them began flying around in a circle, almost appearing to go faster than the eye could see.

The tentacles starting swinging around like a whirligig, crossing over one another like tying a shoelace. All they needed was to begin twisting around themselves to provide the finishing touch. They soon became tied together in one mighty orange spire reaching to the heavens, struggling to lash out at the trio and break free. And utterly failing to do so.

"Now!" he said, without an ounce of the cowardice that so usually plagued him. "Aim your weapons toward the center! When I give the word, fire!"

"Understood," said Tails.

"Sure thing, sugar!" said Bunnie.

"Right then. FIRE!"

It all happened at once. Tails unleashed another round of lasers from his firearm, while Bunnie aimed her robotized arm and pumped out every last iota of energy she could muster. And Antoine? As if possessed, he fired slash after slash, cutting into Dingo like carving a turkey. "THIS IS FOR MY FATHER, YOU MOTHERLESS CUR!"

On their own, the blasts may not have been much to look at, but together, they were a force to be reckoned with. They blasted and pierced and cut right through Dingo's malleable hide, digging straight through and aiming at his core. And they found it. It was the size of a tiny ball, almost like a green shard. And for a moment, with everything surrounding it cut away, they had their chance.

"TAILS!" said Antoine.

"Way ahead of you!" said Tails. He hastily changed the setting on his firearm to 'stun' and fired it right at the shard. It landed before Dingo could regroup himself or do much of anything else, like a bullseye. Against anyone else, it might have taken them out only for a few minutes if they were lucky. But this was a different story. One shot was all it took to bring Dingo down for the count. Almost as if due to some emergency backup system, Dingo's body quickly reformulated himself, changing back to his standard look in the process. And once it did, he fell down on the long, green grass. Face first.

With Dingo out for the count, that left Swifty. Swifty and one other. Amy and the others all breathed a sigh of relief, trying their best to recompose themselves before mopping up. "Is everyone alright?" said Antoine, just before falling down on his knees in a heap. "Sacrebleu!"

Tails hovered back down to the ground, nearly divebombing out of exhaustion. "I'll be fine, but I don't think I'll be able to go airborne for a while. Sorry."

"I'm okay!" said Bunnie. "Sides, can't tire out this bod! For better or worse."

Manic and Amy rushed up to them, all while keeping an eye on Dingo. "He's not dead, is he?" said the former.

"I don't think so," said Tails. "If it were anyone else, probably, but I think it's different with Dingo. He'll be alright. Though he should still be out for awhile."

Amy breathed a sigh of relief. One less moral conundrum she had to worry about. "Good. 'Side from Swifty, that just leaves…" She turned to Thunderbolt, Laser Crossbow aimed and at the ready. "…you." And yet, for whatever reason, she couldn't help but relax her gaze ever so slightly. She wasn't sure how or why, but something seemed different about this one.

"You could've attacked us or helped out your teammates at any point. But you didn't. Instead, you've just been sitting on the sidelines the whole time. Could be that's just what you were ordered to do. Not really sure why, but you never know. But somehow, I don't think that's it."

Neither of them didn't say a word, but in spite of that, there seemed to be some sort understanding between the two. Something that couldn't be communicated through speech. Antoine almost saw fit to speak up against the chinchilla, but one stern look from Amy promptly squashed that. Until at last, the chinchilla spoke.

"I don't know! I guess I don't really know anything. I thought Eggman was the greatest person alive, you know? He was so smart, so intelligent, so commanding! And he also just seemed to care about me when no-one else would! But now…"

"Now you're starting to see him for who he really is, right?" said Tails.

"I suppose. For a while, I still wasn't sure what to think! But, well, something happened. At the last meeting. It's not something I really want to talk about. Not just now. But I think that cinched it. Honestly, I thought Eggman was the greatest thing since ever! Part of me still wants to think it. But another part of me isn't sure I can. And another part thinks I'd just be lying to myself."

"You know," said Manic, "if you're really on the up and up here, you could always quit. Just a thought."

Thunderbolt was shocked. And not in the literal sense. "Just quit? Just quit?! You mean just throw away everything I've worked for, to outright defy the orders of my commanding officer as though I were some baseless cur?! What do you take me for?!"

After spending most of the last few minutes whimpering on his knees, Antoine finally found the courage to stand up and say his piece. More and more, he began to act as though he hadn't a shred of fear and did so again. Though one had to wonder if an act was all it was. "Mademoiselle. If you truly do not believe in what your master is doing, if you can truly see him for what he is and know that what he is is wrong, then perhaps it is not worth it to serve him. For if you do, are you truly any better than he?"

Antoine's remark pierced her as if stabbing her in the chest. "I don't know."

"Then what do you know? Because if you do not know what is staring you straight in the face, then what if anything are you supposed to know?!"

Luckily for Thunderbolt, she wouldn't have to continue this particular line of inquiry much longer. Suddenly, Amy and everyone else could hear the low rumbling of one lone, large truck rolling along towards them in the distance. There weren't any other rumbles to be had, nor could they make out any other trucks or convoys. So why send out just one measly truck if sending in so many others didn't do a thing?

And then it struck Thunderbolt like a shock to the heart. "Hey, wait a minute…"

"What's up, hon?" said Bunnie. "Anything the problem?"

Amy looked towards the truck as well, her hand keeping the sun out of her face. "I can see it too. Honestly, it doesn't look like that big of a deal, but maybe that's the point. Maybe they're hiding a nuke or something?"

"Oh, Gaea. Oh, Gaea! I think I know what this is!"

"Care to tell us then?" said Amy. "Because I'm still trying to figure this one out."

"Right back when we were starting out, Eggman robotized everyone in Mobotropolis except for those already working for him! Said he wanted workers that were loyal. Or at least they were supposed to be."

"You'd think that would've been your first clue," said Manic.

Thunderbolt didn't even bother to give such a remark the time of day. "Anyway, before the operation started, he said that he was thinking of putting some of them to 'better use', but I had no idea what that meant. Then he said they might have a role in this operation specifically, but he was still somewhat hush-hush. But think about it! Most of the bots and badniks for this operation have already been thrashed, at least on this end. Same goes for the other Eggbosses. So unless he sent another squad of bots straightaway, that just leaves…"

Tail's eyes suddenly widened as though they'd been pried open, the full realization of Thunderbolt's speal finally hitting him like a bullseye. And everyone else followed suit. They all looked at the incoming truck, realizing with growing horror what could quite possibly have been laying inside. And they didn't have a clue what they'd do if they were right.

* * *

While Amy and the others were busy dealing with a giant orange gooey mass, Sonic had his own problems to deal with. He was still duking it out with Swifty, still raging across the blains punching and dodging and punching with Swifty doing much of the same. They were doing so much of it that the both of them were starting to tucker out. And so, with neither one gaining any ground, they agreed on a small respite. Not that it would last long.

"Seriously?" panted Sonic. "Did you really want to do this again that badly? Neither of us is gonna be able to land so much as one hit on the other. Not unless we wanna slice each other in half anyway."

"Hey, don't blame it on me," said Swifty. "You don't wanna do what you gotta do, that's your fault. But don't go tryin' to rope me into it."

"You're the one who wants me to rip your fricking guts out!"

Swifty pulled up his socks as they began to fall off, making sure they were on tight. "Let's just say I want a fair fight. And an interesting fight. But so far, I haven't really been impressed. You wanna beat me, you gotta push it. You gotta be willing to go the distance, do what you gotta do. Else we'll be here 'till doomsday."

As though being struck with inspiration, Sonic had an idea. "I don't know about that. You can say I'm not going the extra mile, but I could say the same thing about you."

Swifty's eye twitched out of nowhere. Somewhere, a nerve had been struck. "Come again?"

"Think about it! You keep showing up and saying that I need to pick things up, go the distance, all that jazz. But I don't see you doing the same. You keep on saying what I've been doing isn't enough, but you're not really giving me any clue as to what is. Cause for all this talk of 'going the distance', you haven't really done it yourself."

For as long as Sonic had known him, (which wasn't very long,) Swifty had never failed to keep a smile on his face. Whether he was grinning, smirking, or just plain smiling, he had always seemed so calm and in control of whatever was happening that nothing could phase him. But for the first time in a long time, there wasn't a smile to be seen.

"Come again?"

"You heard me. You say I'm not going the distance? Well, neither are you! Because you don't really wanna kill me. You want me alive. Because there's no-one else you can really go toe-to-toe with. Mina's the only one that comes close, and even then, she's still just a bit too cute for your tastes, isn't she? So come on. I'll gladly pound your heiny into the pavement. But only if you're willing to do the same."

Swifty stared at him. He had always managed to be so calm and collected, almost like a breeze. But he wasn't now. "You seriously wanna do this?"

"Not really, no. And like I said, I don't think you do either. So why don't we just take a step back and calmly talk this out like sensible Mobians? Course, I'm anything but sensible, but it's worth a shot."

Sonic chuckled, confident that his little speech had gotten through to Swifty and would be the big break that he needed. Something to finally make some headway.

It wasn't.

"Listen. You don't think I've got what it takes? I've torn into so many corpses, it would make you blush. I've taken down Mobians that would make you wet yourself at night. And you don't think I've got what it takes?"

Sonic was starting to wonder if this had been such a good idea. "Uh, well, not exactly, but—"

"You want me to show you what I'm made of? Cause I sure as hell can."

"Now, hold on a minute there—"

Swifty came at him like a wild jaguar. He lunged claws first, nearly taking out Sonic's neck with one wild swipe. He came at him again and again and again, and each time it became harder and harder for Sonic to dodge. "Whoah, hey, WHOA! Look, I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression but— WHOA MOMMA!"

Sonic tried to take off, but Swifty tailed right after him, never losing him for a moment. At this point, Sonic knew he had either two choices: Either try to outrun him and hope he eventually got tired and gave up, or stand his ground and fight. And the only way he was going to beat him was if he went that extra mile. It wouldn't be hard. All he'd have to do would be to rev himself up and rip right through him like a buzzsaw. Like tearing through tissue paper. It was the last thing he wanted to do. But what choice did he have?

As it turned out, a most unexpected one. A bright purple laser came bursting in, blasting Swifty out of his run and causing him to tumble and flop around like a fish before righting himself. "THE HELL?!"

The laser soon reshaped itself, revealing itself to be none other than Sonia. And she was far from ecstatic. "Don't you even THINK of touching my cousin! Understand me?!"

Swifty couldn't help but whistle, practically in awe at Sophia's new state of affairs. And her figure. As she was, she didn't leave much to the imagination. "Well, what do we got here? Someone else wants to play! Guess I should be flattered. Though to be honest, I'm not sure I could tear into you if I tried. But you never know, do ya?"

Swifty took a swipe at Sonia, clawing into her purple body of energy with the intent of tearing her guts out. Only there were no guts to tear. What there was, was energy. Plenty of it. And one of the rules of energy was that it could never be destroyed. Only changed into something else.

Which was far from what Swifty was doing. He tore at Sonia again and again, trying to rip her measly guts out only to always fail miserably. All he could do was claw out a few chunks of small energy at a time, and these always reintegrated themselves back into the rest of Sonia's body. As though it could never be destroyed. She supposed that was one thing she'd have to be grateful for. "You done?"

Swifty was almost awestruck. "What the hell are you?!"

"Honestly, I'm not really sure. Energy, I think? That's about it. Still gonna kill that damn fox! But whatever. Long as I'm like this, there isn't really much you can do, is there?"

Swifty stood there dumbfounded. He had himself an image based around fear, dignity, and respect. Anyone could see it. Or at least they could have. Because at that moment, he didn't inspire much of either. "We'll see about that." He kept on digging into her, going faster and faster almost to the point where he might as well have been a slice and dice machine. But despite just how much he was pouring into her, all it really did was make her tickle. "Okay," she said, "as weird as this is, it's also kind of embarrassing. Just long are you gonna keep this up?"

"Hate to say it," said Sonic, "but she's got a point. I mean, all you're really doin' is wearing yourself out. Not that I'm complaining."

"SHUT UP!" Swifty lunged at Sonic, but by this point, only one of them still had their cool. And it wasn't Swifty. It took some doing, but Sonic managed to dodge Swifty's blow like stepping out of traffic, tripping him up in the process. He tumbled onto the checkered grass, face first. He got up in a flash and aimed for Sonic again. Who promptly did the same thing. Only this time, Swifty stumbled right towards Sonia.

"Miss me?" She held back her glowing arm, charged it up, and let it loose. And for the second time in the same day, Swifty was down for the count.

"Quick!" said Sonia. "You weren't there, but that SOB doesn't stay down for long! See anything that can keep him down for a while?" She and Sonic surveyed the horizon, desperate for anything that could keep Swifty from trying to tear apart the both of them. And then he saw it.

"Got it!" Sonic darted off, coming back a moment later with a thick iron bar. "Whoo! This is a bit heavy, but I think it'll do the trick Least after you've bent it a bit. You can do that now, right?"

"Oh! I guess I can." Sonia took the bar and pounded it into the ground next to Swifty like a tentpole before bending it, making sure it was nice and snug around the little green shrew. And then she pounded the other end.

Swifty came to right after, gasping for air like a fish. And the first thing he saw was Sonia's glowing purple face staring right at him. "Hey, handsome!"

"What the—" Swifty tried to move. Tried to get up. Tried to run. Tried to do just about anything. But no mattered how much he budged or struggled, he couldn't do it. For all intents and purposes, he was stuck. "DAMN IT! YOU FUCKING ****'S! WHEN I GET MY HANDS ON YOU—!"

"Hey! Watch it. Anyway, you just sit tight for a while. I'm sure they'll come and get you when all's said and done." As Sonia walked over to Sonic, Swifty continued to call her various lewd and outright offensive obscenities. None of which Sonia gave a damn about. "Oofta! That takes care of him. Good thing too. Maybe I don't look it, but I'm starting to feel a bit beat. Maybe that beatdown he gave me did more to me than I thought. Or maybe I've just used up too much energy on my first day. Either way, I'll probably want to take it easy for a bit."

"Hey, don't worry about it, cuz! I'm sure it's nothin' to worry about! Sides, you saved my life. That's gotta count for somethin', don't it?"

"Thanks, cuz'. It's just, it's weird, ya know? Being turned into some sort of weird energy thing or whatever it is. I mean, I should be freaked! Hella' freaked. But somehow, it doesn't feel so bad. Maybe that's just how it works. Maybe getting turned into this thing makes it feel… right, somehow. I don't know. But what I do know is, I don't know what's gonna happen next. And honestly? It kinda scares me."

Sonic shuffled his feet for a bit, as if unsure just what he should say. Or if he should have said anything at all. It didn't take him long to know he darn well should've.

"Look, cuz'. If I'm gonna' be honest with you, this whole thing, everything? I can't say it scares me because I don't get scared easy, but sometimes when I just take a second to breathe and I realize what we've gotten ourselves into, well, I don't know. I guess it can be overwhelming sometimes. But then I brush it off and keep zipping forward! Because that's the only thing I can do. Cause if I don't, I'm not sure I ever will. So trust me. I may not know what it's like to go through what you're goin' through, but you're not alone. And I'm sure Manic would say the same thing."

For a moment, Sonia stood there as though Sonic hadn't said a word. But only for a moment. She slowly placed her hands over the crystal embedded in her chest, and drops of energy resembling tears trickled down her cheeks. "Damn, cuz. You really know how to make someone feel pathetic. But thanks."

"I try. And no problem, cuz. Just don't mention this to anyone else, 'kay? I got an image to keep!"

"Right. Well, we should be getting back, huh?"

"Yeeup. Though with any luck, we'll— hey, what's that over there? Looks like a truck." Sonic turned around. Sure enough, there was a truck coming right their way. The same one that Thunderbolt had mentioned. And as if right on cue, it stopped.

"Huh. I guess Eggface doesn't know when to quit. Still, now that I've got a handle on this, it shouldn't be a problem. I could probably just zip right through the engine and blow it the hell up, no sweat. Course, I guess if there's anyone inside, it might not be such a good idea."

"Yeah, let's just wait until we can see what's... huh. I think someone's comin' out. Can't quite make 'em out though."

Sonia squinted, not that she needed to. Her vision was a tad purple, but she could still make out just about everything with ease. But what she saw was enough to make her nearly do a spit-take. "I don't believe it."

"What is it now? More SWATbots? Maybe some Badniks? An EGGboss maybe?"

"Nothing like that. I can't be sure, but…"

"Come on, Sonia. Spit it out. You're making me a bit antsy."

"…I think they're roboticized."

Sonic almost didn't believe he heard what he just heard. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Look for yourself." And Sonic did. It took a bit of extra squinting on his part, but he did. And he still almost couldn't believe it. But there it was. Stepping out of the large truck was a platoon of robots carrying laser-rifles, all looking very distinct and very…

"Mobian."

"Yeah. And all robotized."

Sonic's hands began to shake and his teeth started to clench. He thought that maybe, just maybe, they could've stopped Eggman in time. That after the damage they did to the roboticizer, that perhaps they wouldn't have been able to repair it. That maybe he could've done something.

Fat chance of that.

"I couldn't. Couldn't do a thing. And now…"

"Sonic—"

"DAMN IT!" He pounded his fist into the ground with such speed and velocity that it left small imprint in the grass. And for the second time in his life, the fastest thing alive was standing still. If only briefly. "We've gotta get back to Amy and the others. Maybe they'll know what to do."

"Yeah." Not another word was said. Sonic revved up and Sonia turned herself into a quick little laser once more. And they were off.


	50. Rules of War, Chapter 8

"And another one bites the dust. Though I guess that's more like thirty."

Things had been going swimmingly at the Ruins. Chirps stood guard at the strip of land leading there. As it turned out, he was all that was needed. He stood right at the edge, almost beckoning any incoming SWATbots or badniks to take a step forward. Eventually, a throng had gathered to fill up the strip like a crowd of ants. And Chirps was only too happy to throw them into the drink. He summoned up two narrow, tall ridges of stone right in the middle that spanned the length of the entire strip, and pushed them along with all of the badniks towards the water. After which they promptly short-circuited like toaster ovens. Rinse and repeat.

"Like fish in a barrel. Ain't I a stinker?"

That said, Chirps wasn't an instant cure-all. He could handle most of them in a heartbeat, but there were some he couldn't take care of so quickly. A horde of buzzbombers soared over the strip and made their way to the ruins, ready to blast away all they could see. "Damn it! Everyone, think you can handle it?! I'm kind of busy over here! Taking care of the main force and all that! Just a FYI!"

Everyone else stood at the ready, though some of them weren't exactly sure what they could do against a bunch of airborne foes." Johnny," said Shortfuse, "go up there and take out as many as you can! We'll do what we can down here!"

"Way ahead of ya!" Shortfuse rocketed into the sky, firing his laser at as many bombers as he could while trying to tear apart the rest. "Think you're hot stuff, huh?!"

Meanwhile, the Golgoboa's put down their swords and picked up their bows before taking cover, trying to shoot down what they could. They knew the ruins well. By and large, they knew how to keep themselves from getting hurt while still dishing it out, and once the Bombers started firing, this proved true. But against laser-fire, not all of their cover could last forever. And some of the Gogobola's were less than fortunate.

"Damn it!" Johnny alternated between protecting himself with his forcefield and blasting away whatever bombers he could.

Big stood his ground, puffing out his chest and taking the brunt of the fire. "Tickles." It stung, but only just. He threw out a line and took out five buzzbombers with one cast, and was ready to catch even more.

Sticks used much the same strategy as the Gogoboas, taking cover and tossing out when she could. "HEY! YOU STOLE 'S LUNCH! HE AIN'T GONNA BE TOO HAPPY ABOUT THAT!"

That just left Mina and Rotor. Seeing as her abilities were mostly based around just moving fast, there wasn't much she could do. Instead, she darted around the ruins, picking up small pebbles or chunks of rubble and hurling them at the Bombers like bullets. It seemed to do the trick. And Rotor, strong as ever, did much the same thing.

The battle raged, with everyone and the Gogoboas doing their best. And their best was all they needed. The bombers were eventually dealt with, and even though the FF were bruised and even a bit burned, they were still standing. Though the same could not be said of some of the Gogobola's.

"Mina, check on the Gogobola's," said Johnny. "Get me a headcount."

"Right." She zipped off, and in seconds she was back. But she didn't seem particularly happy. "Most of the Gogolboa's are fine. Some of them've got a few injuries, but nothing they can't fix. But…"

"But what?"

"Uh, well. Some of them didn't, uh, didn't make it."

Johnny clenched his fist as though he wanted to strangle somebody. "Damn it," he muttered. "Not again." He turned to the others. "Alright. Everyone, make sure the Gogobolas are okay. Then we've got to check on Amy. Make sure they've got things covered." He called over to Chirps. "All done there?"

"Just about." He called up one more wall, tossing the last badnik into the drink. "And that should do it. We done here, boss?"

"Once we check up on the Gogobola's? Pretty much. Though I guess there's nothing wrong with calling Amy first." He took out a small handheld communicator from his pack and placed it to his lips. "Amy? Amy, you there? This is Johnny. You there, Amy? Amy? Come on, talk to me…"

* * *

"You there, Amy? Amy? Come on, talk to me…"

Amy didn't even bother to pick up the transceiver in her satchel. She almost couldn't hear Johnny at all. All she knew was that the truck had come to a stop and unleashed its' payload. And said payload was an entire platoon of roboticized Mobians. "Good Gaea."

"He really did it," said Manic, dumbfounded. "He really did it!"

Bunnie was quivering, as though just seeing an entire small army of fully robotized Mobians was enough to make her shiver. "My stars. That could've been me. That could've been, could've been…" She nearly collapsed. Antoine rushed in to hold her though seeing as about half of her body was metal, it was something of a struggle.

"I have got you, mon cherie Bunnie! Although you are very, very heavy!"

Bunnie breathed deep, nearly hyperventilating before getting herself together. And being held by Antoine didn't hurt any. "T—thanks, Ant. I think I've got it together now. Still though. It means a lot, really."

"Uh, I hate to ruin the mood," said Tails, "but shouldn't we do something about the group of Robians coming our way?"

'Robians?" said Amy.

"You know, 'Mobian'+'Robot'. I just think it makes it a bit easier to say, is all. Anyway, those Robians aren't really a match even with most of us so tuckered out. But the problem is, well. They're still Mobian."

"Yeah," said Amy. "That's gonna be a problem. If we could tear into them, we'd practically have a field day. But as is, I don't know if there's much else we can do. Not without killing them."

"Actually," said Thunderbolt, "there is."

As if saying the magic words, Tail's brains began to whizz and whir like clockwork. "Hey, you don't mean—"

Thunderbolt stepped forward, practically ignoring him. "Listen up! I'm an Egg Boss! Or was anyway. So I was given the frequency for all of the Robians. Which is essentially the same for each. And I can also send out shockwaves. So if I can send something that really confuses the heck out of them—"

"—then you might be able to stop them from moving! Maybe even shut them down!"

"Just that! I really am a little genius, aren't I?"

"Less thinking, more acting!" said Amy.

"Right! Time to light 'em up!" Thunderbolt's eyes began to glow with an awesome power, crackling with electricity. She started to focus, putting her all into such a wave of static that everyone who was stupid enough to get caught up in it would find their hair standing on end for weeks.

Sonic and Sonia finally came rushing in, less in awe at Thunderbolt's display and more utterly confused that she hadn't been punched unconscious yet. "Uh, Amy?" said the former. "How come the chinchilla's helping us? Or at least I think she's helping us anyway. Could be part of some evil scheme or something for all we know."

"Hey, you're back!" said Manic. "I was startin' to get worried.

"Uh, yeah," said Sonia. "Hi, Manic."

"Lookin' good! And purple. But still good."

Sonia blushed. "Thanks, Manic. It means a lot."

Amy sighed. For all Thunderbolt had told her, she could scarcely believe her either. "Honestly, I'm not really sure. All I know is, we've got a small horde of Robians coming our way, and none of us wants to thrash them. For obvious reasons. So this is the only thing I can think of. All I know is, if she pulls through, well, maybe she was telling the truth after all.

The wave soon became more focused and intense, shrinking and narrowing until it was small enough to cover the Robians and ONLY the Robians. Thunderbolt then closed her eyes and focused as though she were searching through the airwaves, trying to find just the right signal to shut them down without doing any serious harm.

"Got it!" The field emitted a low whine like a dying animal's distress call. It didn't affect the Freedom Fighters in the least. (Other than perhaps giving a few of them a small headache.) But it did have an effect on the Robians. As though hitting a wall, they stopped dead in their tracks. For a while, they just stood there. There weren't any deep thoughts in their heads, nor did they do anything that grabbed anyone's attention. They were simply… there.

As Tails observed the Robians, he noticed that something was beginning to change. As if there was some small detail that wasn't there before. "Uh, Amy? This might be a bit too early to tell, but I think it's working."

"Huh?" Amy took another look at the Robians. Slowly but surely, the light began to dim from their eyes. Their bodies began to slack, and their torsos' started to slump as though they just didn't have the energy to keep them up. It was slow and it was tedious, but eventually, they were down for the count. And without a single shot fired.

"It worked!"

This much was true. None of the Robians were moving, and all of them seemed to have been rendered offline. With any luck, a simple fix by Eggman could get them back up and running in a jiffy.

"Sacre bleu!" Antoine could scarcely believe it. For more reasons than one. But there it was.

Thunderbolt lowered her arms and opened her eyes. She bent over slightly and put her hands on her knees, as though she had just run an entire marathon. "Whew! Didn't even really do that much! Except I guess I did! Or else I wouldn't be so pooped!"

Amy took a deep breath. And then she made a choice. A choice she wasn't sure was the correct one. But she felt if she didn't make it, she might as well have been sent to the Abyss for all she cared. She was still giving Thunderbolt a glare of death, but she was no longer on her potential hit list. "Thanks. You didn't have to do any of that. But you did. And it means a lot."

Thunderbolt blushed. "Uh, well, that is to say, of course I helped! Why wouldn't I? I'm one of the greatest Mobians you'll ever see! Thunderbolt, bane of evil everywhere!" She laughed like a mad woman, creeping even Amy out.

"Um, okay? That said, I still can't completely trust you. You understand. But I'm willing to give you a chance. Sides, after you pulled something like this, Eggman's not gonna be too happy with you. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if he saw the whole thing. Wouldn't put it past him."

Amy couldn't have known just how accurate a statement that was. Because as it turned out, he had.

* * *

Eggman was fuming. Almost as though he were an active volcano. Everything had been going so well. Some villagers had been slaughtered, an army of bots had been sent their way, some of his most crack troops were on the scene, and he had even sent a surprise or two their way. And they still lost. Even Venue B at the Ruins seemed to have a hard time of it.

In fact, why DID Venue B have a hard time of it? Shouldn't the Eggbosses have gotten there by now? He pressed a button on the keypad below the monitor, a loud crackle briefly popping like static before ceasing to be. "Snively?"

Snively's voice could be heard on the other end, even if it was clear it didn't wish to be. "Yes, sir?"

"What's the status of Squad B?"

"I was just about to tell you, sir. Apparently, their truck fell into a mud-pit. They'll be right as fine given some drying off, but for all intents and purposes, they're stuck in the middle of nowhere."

"Can't they at least walk? Just how far away are they?!"

"Far enough. Although if you're so insistent on them getting there, something must have gone wrong somewhere. I suppose you really can't make an omelet without breaking a few—"

Eggman slammed down on the button, firmly turning the communication system off. And like a boiling pot of water, he began to fume even worse than before. Almost as though he were enraged.

"Something wrong, Julian?" Chuck had his arms crossed, or at least as much as he could with his hands tied together. "Or did you just have some indigestion?"

"YOU. SHUT. UP." He couldn't conceive it. Even discounting Squad B, there should have been no way they could have lost. None. No matter how powerful they were, no matter how strong or skilled on their own, no matter how good the other side was, at the moment, there were only so many of them and oh so very many of him. Or rather his forces. And yet, they just. Kept. WINNING. And that was WITHOUT an island-wide militia. If they managed to rally one together…

Something had to be done. If he couldn't win, then at the very least he still couldn't lose. He had to show that when it came down to it, he was still their better. He needed something to prove to the Freedom Fighters and himself that he was something to be feared. That he could take away everything and everyone they loved in an instant. That no matter what they did or how hopeful things may have seemed, he could still throw each and every one of them right into a ditch.

"Well," said Chuck, "if you so wish. Mind you, it's starting to get kind of boring standing around here all day with nothing to do but twiddle your thumbs, so if you could kindly throw me back in the room, I wouldn't mind in the least."

And that was when it him. He ever so slowly turned towards Chuck, his toothy smile shining in the light like a row of giant white bones. "Troopers?" said Chuck. "Take Sir Chuck to the roboticization chamber if you please."

Chuck didn't have to hear another word. His eyes widened in horror and his quills began to bristle. But one look through Eggman's glasses was enough to know one thing. That his fate was sealed. "Julian. Please. I don't know what's going through your head, but—"

"You know, Chuck, I really did like you. I really did. But in the end, you were mocking me too, weren't you?! Like all the rest."

Chuck was dumbfounded. "Excuse me? Julian, I never—"

"Laughing behind my back. Calling me names. Pretending I wasn't good enough! You're doing it now! And you did it then too. Didn't you?"

"Julian, I never—"

"Troopers! You heard me." The Troopers didn't need to hear another word. Without hesitation, they grabbed Chuck by the arms and dragged him towards the doorway to the hall. And Chuck knew just where they were going.

"JULIAN! PLEASE! IF THERE'S ANYTHING DECENT LEFT IN THAT OVERSIZED HUSK YOU CALL A BODY—"

"Wrong move." Eggman turned away from Chuck, not even bothering to face him as he was carried away. Of course, he'd have to follow after him at some point. He couldn't call Grimer. Otherwise, he'd be more liable to rig it so Chuck wouldn't be affected than anything else. So he'd just have to do it himself.

"Okay, maybe I went overboard! But can you blame me? Julian, the way you're acting, the way you're going about things, it's horrific! You may have loathed what everyone did to you, but here and now, you're even worse than them!"

"Do. I. Care? Troopers? If you please?"

The Troopers continued dragging Chuck away to an inevitable fate as though he were cattle. "JULIAN! PLEASE! IF THERE'S A SINGLE SPECK OF DECENCY LEFT IN YOU—!"

And then the doors slam shut. And they were gone. And Chuck got his answer.

* * *

Manic looked around, not really sure what was going to happen next. "So, now what?"

Amy slipped her communicator back into her satchel, as though she were done with it for the day. "Well, I know what Johnny's group is doing for one thing. Apparently, they just wrapped up their own squad of bots a little while ago, so I guess—" Just as she seemed to about to put a little bow on it, the communicator beeped like an alarm, giving nearly everyone in the area a headache. Antoine almost screamed like a girly-girl, though Thunderbolt wasn't much better off.

Amy ripped the communicator out of the satchel and slammed down on the 'ON' switch, breathing a sigh of relief when the beeping finally stopped. "Okay, who is this? Sally? Another set of bots headed this way? You serious? Oh. The militia? You serious?! Well, whatever you say. Amy out." Amy threw the communicator back into the satchel, almost ecstatic. "Okay, people. We're heading out! The bad news is there's another group of bots heading this way. Good news is, they've finally got the Island Militia together and they'll be here any minute! So we are longer the be-all end-all."

"Thank Gaea!" said Sonic. "To be honest, I was getting a bit tired of zipping around all over the place whenever Eggman so much as sneezed. I love adventure as much as the next guy, but a hedgehog's got to breathe!"

"Yeah, well, they'll be talking about it after we get back. Now that we don't need to be everywhere and anywhere, we might end up being a bit more specialized. But that can wait." She turned to Thunderbolt. "Hey, Thundy. Got a minute?"

"Uh, yeah?" She nearly stumbled towards Amy, almost afraid of the fact that she was talking to her while she was holding a crossbow to her face.

"Look. Normally this wouldn't be my place to say, but I'm about the closest thing to authority out here. So. You did good. Without you, I don't know what we would've done about those Robians. I can't say I fully trust you yet, but I'm willing to give you a chance. And I think Eggman's probably going to eat you alive if he catches you after pulling that stunt. It might take a bit to really win us over, but it's still somewhere to start." She raised her hand, opening her palm in the hopes that Thunderbolt would take it. "What do you say?"

"Hey, hold on a second!" said Sonia. "Look, I get that she helped us out and all, but she's still working for Eggman! Or was anyway! How do we know this isn't some sort of evil plan or something that we don't know about?"

"Hey, come on, Sonia," said Manic. "I get where you're coming from, really. But she did keep us from having to fight those Robians. And she didn't so much as lift a finger against us. I say give her a chance."

"I agree," said Antoine. He was still quivering after the shriek, but only slightly. And it wasn't as though he was letting it get to him. "I do not fully trust her either, but assuming this wasn't all some ridiculously overly-complicated plot, she could be incredibly useful. She WAS one of Eggman's top agents after all. If she decides to join us, who knows what we could learn from her."

"Hey," said Bunnie, "all I know is, I couldn't do a darn thing! Kinda ashamed 'bout that. But she did somethin'! And she helped us when she really didn't have to. So that makes her okay in my book."

"Honestly," said Tails, "I've got my doubts. But it's probably better to have her with us than running around with Eggman. At least that way we can keep an eye on her. As long as we make sure she doesn't have any high-tech tracking devices on her."

"Hey," said Sonic, "if my lil' bro and our fearless leader are okay with it, then I'm okay with it too. I'm easy!"

Amy raised her hand further, even more sure of her decision than before. "Well? How about it?"

Thunderbolt stared at Amy's open hand. She gulped as her eyes widened, and her fur bristled all over her body with static. She started to hold out her own shaking hand, slowly but surely.

And then she grasped Amy's as though she were holding on for dear life. And small tears slowly started to trickle down her cheeks like a summer drizzle.

"T-thanks. It's just, no-one's really done anything like this for me before. I mean, I thought Eggman did, but I suppose he didn't, really. But don't misunderstand! I'm not gonna be someone you can just push around! If I'm coming along, it's gonna be on my terms! You understand me?!"

Amy chuckled, taking Thunderbolt's tirade in stride. "Whatever you say. Anyway, like I said, it'll take a while to win everyone over. And you'll still have some explaining to do. But—"

Just then, a light suddenly shone down from above. Everyone looked up at the source. It was a small, tiny device, almost like a beetle. And there was a round red face with a mustache painted square on its surface. And Tails knew just who had built it. "Eggman!"

An image appeared within the light. It was flickering and faint at first, but it soon solidified into existence like making out a mirage. And it was none other than Eggman himself.

"Well! Greetings and salutations, my friends! It's been a while since we've met one another face to face, hasn't it? Of course, we aren't REALLY face to face, are we? But that's nothing worth fretting over!"

"EGGFACE!" Sonic rushed towards Eggman, only to find himself skidding on the grass as he ran straight through him. As though he were passing through a veil of fine mist.

"Ah! Nice try, hedgehog, but as you can see, I'm not actually here. And all the better, I'd say. If I were, you might just slice me in half! So I'd say it's better if I kept my distance."

"Son of a—"

"SONIC!" Amy gave Sonic the glare of death. Running off his mouth halfcocked wasn't going to get anyone anywhere. Even if she almost wanted to do the same. She turned to Eggman. "You know, you've got a lot of nerve showing yourself around here, even if it is just a hologram. In case you haven't noticed though, we've sort of trashed most of your troops, and any others you send our way are just gonna get mopped up in short order. So if there's any reason you're showing yourself like this, it can't be just to gloat."

"Indeed. I actually have two reasons for my impromptu appearance. One is to bid my darling Thunderbolt farewell. Oh, yes, my sweet little Thunderbolt. I saw EVERYTHING. And you can rest assured that if I ever get a chance, I'll skewer you in the gullet. Assuming I just don't roboticize you first."

Thunderbolt gulped.

"Still, there's not much I can do to you just now, so. Water under the bridge! Until you dare show your face anyway."

"So what's the second thing?" said Amy.

"This." Eggman stepped aside. The image panned back, revealing a larger room. One some of them knew very well.

Antoine stepped forward, his knees oh so slightly knocking. "Wait. Is that not—"

He didn't even need to finish his sentence. Bunnie did it for him. "The roboticizer!"

Sonic nearly gasped. He almost couldn't believe it. "It can't be." But it was. Standing in the Roboticizer pounding on the glass was the one person he thought would never be in any danger. Would never stand a chance of being killed or robotized or whatever else. Because he wasn't there. Because he couldn't be. Because he was safe and sound wherever he was.

He couldn't be more wrong.

"UNCLE CHUCK!"

Sonia clasped her hands over her face, almost yelping in shock. "UNCLE CHUCK!"

Manic simply stood there. He wasn't shocked. He wasn't stunned. He wasn't sad or angry or even happy. He just was. As though he wasn't there at all. As though he wasn't sure what to think.

"Sonic!" said Chuck. "You're alright! And you too, Sonia! Thank Gaea."

And then he saw Manic.

"Oh. Oh, Gaea. I… Manic, I—"

"CHUCK!" said Sonic. "What are you even doing there?! The hell are you doing in the roboticizer?! What—"

"Ah, ah!" said Eggman. "That's enough time for family reunions, I think. Don't you? Now, let's get on with the show. Shall we?"

With what were quite possibly his last moments of being himself, Chuck pressed his hands to the glass, desperate to get in a few last words. "Sonic! The ring! Find the ring! You too, Sonia! If you can find it, you might have a chance! We all might! And Manic. Manic, I… there's so much I want to say. So much I want to—"

"Time's up!" Eggman pounded on a button on the control panel. Chuck began clutching his head, groaning as though his entire body was aching. He started to scream, even as parts of his body gradually began to transform from flesh into pure metal.

"UNCLE CHUCK!" said Sonic.

"CHUCK!" said Sonia.

As for Manic, he wasn't sure what to say. Not at first. What could he have said? But then Chuck began to groan. And started to scream. And he could no longer hold it back.

"DAD!"

Everyone except for Sonia and Sonic turned to Manic as though they couldn't quite believe their ears. But as Chuck continued to howl in misery, they knew there were more important things to worry about.

"Screw this!" said Sonic. "I'm going over to Mobotropolis! I'm gonna save Chuck and smash Eggman's face in and—"

And then it was done. The process had ceased. And when Chuck slowly raised his head, he was no longer Chuck. Not the Chuck they knew. Every single part of his body had become robotized. And as Chuck's red eyes sparked to life, it was clear that his mind was now the same way.

"Oh, Gaea!" said Bunnie. She nearly did a repeat of her previous collapse, though Antoine was again there to catch her in case she fell. Not that she did, but it was the thought that counted.

No-one could say a word. How could they? Even if most of them hadn't met Chuck before, they had still seen someone fully roboticized before their eyes. And those who did? They sorely wished they hadn't.

"All done!" said Eggman. "Now, Chuck! Who's your bestest friend in the whole wide world?"

"DOCTOR EGGMAN." His voice was cold and robotic like a machine. Which was what he was. Not a single trace of Chuck's personality was in there, if there was a speck of personality at all.

"Very good! And who do you serve?"

"DOCTOR EGGMAN."

"VERY good! And tell me. Who do you hate the most?"

"ANYONE WHO DOES NOT SERVE DOCTOR EGGMAN."

"Very. Good." He turned to the Freedom Fighters, still in shock. "Well. I hope that'll serve as a lesson. That no matter how many bots you thrash, no matter how much it seems like you're winning, I still hold the cards." He held up his hand, almost as if holding a heart. "Because I can always take whatever you treasure most…" And then he squeezed it. Hard. "…AND CRUSH IT. Do we understand one another? Good. Now, if you please. GET OUT OF MY LIFE." And with one momentary flicker, the hologram winked out of existence. And was gone.

No-one was sure what to say. Sonic was speechless. Sonia wasn't much better off. And Manic might as well have been dead. Amy didn't know if she should have said anything at all. But she had to say something.

"Sonic. Sonia, Manic. I—"

"Don't," said Sonia. "Just don't. Please."

"Uh, I hate to say this," said Tails, "but we need to get moving. More bots might be here any second. Along with the militia. We—"

Suddenly, Sonic sprung to life as though he'd just been fitted with a shiny new battery. And he wasn't happy. "I'm going. I don't care if they shoot me down or not, I'm going. I'm not letting Chuck—"

Bunnie grabbed him by the shoulder. "Hold it, sugar. I know how you're feelin', hon, I do, but there's nothin' you can do. He's gone. Take it from someone who knows."

"You want me to just stand around while he's doin' who knows what to Chuck?! ARE YOU NUTS?! I—"

"Sonic!" said Sonia. She gestured to Manic. Who still was no better than a walking corpse. "Sonic, I feel the same way. I really do. But don't think you're the only one who's hurting! Or who's hurting the most."

"I— no. No, you're right. Sorry." He briefly turned to Manic. "Oh, Manic."

Amy turned to the village. "Anyway. Tails is right. We've gotta get out of here." They all started walking towards the village. Some of them slower than others. Except for Manic. Still kneeling on the grass like a ragdoll.

"Don't worry, cuz." Sonia lifted Manic on her shoulders, carrying him like a sack of meat. "I've got you!"

They continued walking back to town. All except Thunderbolt. She looked back to where the device had been, now far out of sight. And she couldn't help but shed a tear. She dried her eyes and hurried back to the others. And as the sounds of more trucks started to come from either side of the plains, all anyone could wonder was what any of them had done to deserve this.

* * *

 _Hi, everyone! That was Chapter 50. To think it's not even a full year and we're already that far along. Anyway, I just want to thank everyone who's stuck around so far as well as anyone who may be checking out this series for this first time. Blue Horizon means a lot to me. It started out as just a mishmash of all the different versions of Sonic and it's still that in a number of ways, but it's since become something more. It's my own take on Sonic and his world, and it's something I look forward to working on every day. Again, thanks to everyone for reading this series. Here's to another 50 more._


	51. Fathers

It was morning in the forest of knothole as a light autumn shower blessed it with its' grace. The wet leaves glistened to the point where you could nearly see your reflection. The grass was starting to brown and dry up, but there was still some life to it. Birds chirped all around, filling the air with their sweet music.

And it was wholly disturbed by the fastest pity party alive.

A blue blur raced through the forest. It ran like the wind, jumping over logs and hopping over river's, never stopping for an instant. His arms brushed past various plants and small branches as he went, never caring much about anything other than what was right in front of him. And he still nearly stumbled enough to show that even that might have been a put-on. All he knew was that he didn't want to remember what happened the other day. He knew that maybe he shouldn't have gone that far, that things were no doubt more complicated than he made them out to be, that others were hurting more. But he just couldn't bear it. Couldn't beat to think of it. Couldn't—

"Gotcha!"

He tumbled to the floor. He wasn't sure what, but he'd just been attacked by *something.* And he would've liked to know what that something was. Whatever it was, it was still grabbing on for dear life, and the two of them rolled around like a tire until they crashed into the nearest tree.

The impact bounced the both of them back and laid them out on the floor, each sprawled out like ragdolls. "Oy." Sonic got up, though he still wondered for a moment if he should've. He took a moment to look at whoever had tried to catch him. As it turned out, he didn't even need to see them to know who it was.

Mina groaned like she had a hangover. Not that she did, but after such a collision, he couldn't blame her. She took a moment to get her bearings before remembering just why she was there. And then her gaze shifted almost exclusively to the blue blur standing in front of her.

"Sorry, Sonic, really! I didn't mean for that to happen, honest. I guess I just kind of tripped. One thing led to another and, well, uh, you know. Sorry."

"No, it's okay," he said. "I mean, sure, I got a bunch of branches stuck in my face once, but that's life. But if you don't mind, I'd really like to be alone. No offense."

"Sonic, you've been alone for the last day. You haven't really eaten anything since Chuck. And you've been running non-stop. You can't keep doing this to yourself!"

"Try me."

Just then, Tails flew in, hovering down to Sonic and Mina like a miniature helicopter. "Found you! Thanks, Mina!"

"Yeah, well, you're not the only one who cares about him. I mean, not in that way, of course! Except not really. I mean, I don't even know if I swing that way, except of course I do because I couldn't possibly swing THAT way ohGAEAIhaveissues-"

Tails was befuddled. "Uh, Mina? No offense, but could you please start making sense? Because this is starting to sound like some sort of word salad."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

Tails hovered next to Sonic, gasping at him as though he could scarcely believe it. Sonic wasn't in the worst shape, but if he didn't get himself together, he'd be there soon enough. Small rings were starting to form under his eyes, and he was beginning to thin out as though he'd lost a few pounds. The price of running and running without eating enough to compensate.

"We've been worried about you big bro."

"Well, thanks, but you shouldn't be. I'm doing just fine by myself, thanks."

"Sonic, I can see your ribcage! You haven't been eating, not as much as you should. And you haven't gotten a wink of sleep. For your sake, we've gotta get you back to Knothole!"

"I'm not going. Not yet anyway. I just... I just can't."

"Are you serious? Look at yourself! You've been running yourself ragged! If we don't get you back now, you're gonna collapse. Or worse. Understand me?!"

Sonic shrugged. "So? At this point, I couldn't care less."

"But Sonic—"

"I'm not done. Chuck was… he was more than just an uncle to me. My parents weren't always there for me. They loved me, sure, but they just weren't always there. Always going on some trip or somethin'. Can't blame 'em though. Guess it runs in the blood. But Chuck? Chuck was always there for me. Whenever my parents weren't there, he was. And I think he did more to raise me than my parents did. I mean, I was still kinda an asshole. Not gonna lie. But if he hadn't been there, I might've been even worse."

Sonic clenched his fist. Almost as though he were about to strangle somebody. "And then what happens? He gets robotized! Out of nowhere! And I couldn't do a thing! Just like the King. I couldn't save him either. And I couldn't save Chuck. I failed the both of 'em when they needed me the most. And I can't just rush back in to save him either! SO WHAT THE HELL AM I GOOD FOR?!"

Tails and Mina were dumbstruck. They had never seen Sonic like this. Not for as long as they'd known him. Granted, they had only known him a couple of months, but this was still new for them. And for the moment, neither was quite sure what to say."

"Uh, look, Sonic," said Mina. "I know you've really got to be hating yourself right now. Not being able to save those you care about most and all that. And I get that. I mean, if I'd lost someone I cared about—"

"SHUT UP! We didn't lose him! We're gonna get him back! I just don't know how."

At this point, Tails figured he should say something. "Sonic. Remember when we first met? I told you how I'd lost my family. They didn't get robotized or anything like that, but I still lost them. And for a while, I wasn't sure if I could live with myself. But someone taught me I could. That there was always something to look forward to and live towards. That regardless of anything else, you need to keep moving forward and never look back. And now he's saying the opposite."

Sonic was cut to the quick.

"Tails, I—"

"'Big bro.' That's what you are to me. Someone who will never give up regardless of whatever comes his way. Someone who always tries to find a way to do what he has to and won't back down despite everything and everyone saying he should. But if you're just gonna run around like none of that matters to you, then you aren't my big bro!"

Sonic had more or less been blindsided. He wasn't expecting Tails to put up such a robust rebuttal as he had. Or with seeming much of a threat at all.

"Where's your sense of adventure?" he said. "Your sense of fun? Your sense of anything?! Because right now, it doesn't seem like you've got a whole lot of any of that.."

Sonic looked in a small pool of water at his feet. He took a good, long look at himself. And wondered if he really still had it in him.

Sonic stared at his fist for the longest time as if he were still unsure just what course of action he should have taken. And then he clenched it in less than a second. "Actually, I do still have one sense. And that's sensing I was a big ol' idjit just now."

Mina watched with bated breath while Tails could only breath with a sigh of relief.

"You're right," he said. "I don't give up. Because there's no reason to! They can take away everything I've got! My family, friends, anything! And I'll still win! Even if it's the last thing I do! UNDERSTAND ME?!"

"Now that's my big bro!" said Tails.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I need a chili-dog. ASAP. Because WHOA do I feel woozy." Sonic began to lose his footing, gradually stumbling and swaying back and forth like a wobbling building before collapsing to the ground with a thud.

"Oh, Gaea! Is he gonna be alright?!" said Mina.

Tails kneeled and checked his pulse. He was sure it was nothing serious, but he wanted to be sure. "He'll be fine. At least after he gets some rest. The important thing though is we got him back."

"Yeah," said Mina. "Still though, that was just Sonic. What about Manic?"

"I don't know. Sonic was already taking it pretty bad. And if Manic's even worse.."

"That's doesn't sound good."

"I know. We're just gonna have to hope that Sonia can get through. Because if she can't, then I don't know who else can."

* * *

"Cuz? Hey, cuz? Cuz?"

Manic was sitting at the drums on the middle of the stage near the Terrace. His eyes were unfocused and blank, almost as if they'd been sapped of any will or sense of spirit whatsoever. He tapped on the drum every several seconds, establishing a repetitive and consistent motion. And one that was ever unchanging.

Sonia stood on the edge of the stage. She was calling to him, desperate for him to wake up from his stupor. But it wasn't to be. "Manic? Come on, Manic. Please! Don't do this to me! Look, I know you're kind of messed up right now. I really do. But I kinda am too ya know. Maybe I'm not freaking out to high heaven or anything, but I lost Chuck too. And I got turned into some sort of energy thingy! I just need someone to talk to. But Sonic's running himself to death and I don't really trust anyone else enough for this sort of thing. It may be kind of selfish, really selfish actually, but I need you. So please. Don't do this to me."

Manic didn't hear a word.

Sonia sighed. She hovered off the stage, faint particles of energy trailing behind her. Obviously, she had her own problems to deal with. But Manic came first. Or at least she wanted him to. But just how was she supposed to take care of him when he didn't want to be taken care of at all?

"Hey, kiddo." Sonia looked behind her. Standing large and in charge was Big, fishing pole on his right shoulder and Froggy on his left. "You okay?"

"Oh! Uh, fine, Big. Just fine. Okay, not really fine."

"That's what I thought. The kid still havin' a pity party?"

"You do know his father got turned into a robot just as the two were starting to reconnect, right? 'Pity party's' kind of a strong word there."

"Sorry. But he's still mopin', ain't he?"

"Yeah. I mean, I can't blame him. I'd probably do the same thing. But he can't just keep sitting there like that either. I'd tried talking and talking to him, going at it from nearly every angle, but nothing's worked. The only other thing I can think of is tackling it in the most brutish and cold way imaginable, and that's not something I want to do to Manic. So I'm at a loss."

Big took a good look at Manic, looking him over as though performing various equations and calculations in his head. He often had that look before a big haul, and he always managed to reel it in with aplomb. But fishing wasn't all that he excelled at.

"Looks to me like you need to try a different tact. Or let someone else try one. Sometimes, people are just too attached or they've got their own problems to deal with." He glanced at the crystal embedded in Sonia's chest, making sure she knew that he had. "They can't always help other people like they should because they're still trying to help themselves. Which is a long way of saying maybe you should give someone else a shot."

"Hey, if you wanna talk to him, go ahead. Because I'm out of ideas."

That was all Big needed to hear. "That's what I figured. Don't worry, kiddo. I'll see what I can do." He walked over to Manic, taking a moment to observe his repetitive, lifeless drumming before plopping down next to him on the stage. The whole floor shook like a quake with his presence, and it was all anyone on the ground could do to keep themselves from being rocked by it.

"Look, kiddo. I can't say I know what you're goin' through. Not really. But I do know what it's like to lose your folks." He sighed before looking up at the trees above, almost as though remembering something from long ago. "I was born as one of the Felidae. Might have heard of 'em. They're an old tribe of Mobians that have one of the wonkiest societies I've ever seen. And it was even wonkier living in it. Their whole society was based on clothes. If you wore an Inspector's hat, you were an inspector. If you put on a priest's robes, you were a priest. So on and so forth. And as you might imagine, it wasn't really the most stable form of government." He picked his ear, almost as if he couldn't care less about anything he had just said.

"But it was what we had. And most of didn't have much choice but to live in it. Anyway, I ended up getting my pole and my belt when I was about eight. And because of that, I was trained to be a fisherman. Course, turned out I loved fishin', but not everyone was so lucky. And I was still bein' forced into somethin' I didn't have any real say in. Which kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Sure, I loved fishin' and still do, but what if I ever wanted to do somethin' else? What if I didn't want to be a fisherman? Sure, I guess if ever wanted to I could just put on something else and do that, but it still seemed kind of arbitrary. The whole thing did."

He held his rod forward almost as if casting it out, imagining the perfect cast in his mind's eye. "Didn't help that my father was in full support of it. He was a carpenter, though not because he wanted to be. He wanted to be a fisherman too. But regardless, he was also a man of integrity. And also flat out stubborn. This was how things were done so that's how they were done. Nothin' else mattered to him. So at the end of the day, I had an unstable government that was bound to collapse on one side and a stubborn as heck father on the other. So I left. And never looked back. Or at least that's what I told myself."

He put down his rod, his eyes almost beginning to tear up like mist. "Decades later, someone managed to get word to me about my Dad. He was dead. About a year before I got it. I never got a chance to say to him what I always wanted to say. Because I did, you know. I kept on thinking about what I'd say to him if I had the chance. About giving him what for, letting him know what he could've done different. And then maybe, just maybe havin' things be the way I always wanted 'em to be. But now, I don't got that chance."

He turned to Manic. "But you do. Things may look bad now, but look at it this way. Your dad ain't really dead. Sure, it doesn't look good. But there's still a chance. Maybe you don't know what it is yet, but you've still got a shot to fix him. To save him. And once you do, you can tell him everything you always wanted to tell him. But maybe that's just me bein' a sentimentalist."

Big looked at Manic for a moment. Despite all that he had said, he was still drumming as stiffly and lifelessly as ever. "Well, I tried." Big got up and began to walk off, his feet just reaching the edge of the stage.

And then the drumming stopped.

"I…" Manic's voice was low and hoarse, but it soon began to gain in volume and intensity. And his tear ducts quickly became floodgates. "I should have said something. Anything! That bastard! He just came in one night, had a quick fling, and that was it! He didn't even know about me until his niece just happened to run into me! MY MOTHER DIED! AND HE WASN'T THERE! WHAT THE HELL WAS I SUPPOSED TO SAY TO HIM?!"

He rubbed his eyes in a vain attempt to stop the tears. But they just kept coming. "He tried, you know. Once he found out about me, he tried to make it up to me. Offered to take me in as his son. But I just couldn't. He wasn't there for me when I needed him. When WE needed him! And he just expects me to come running to his arms like that?! But now? Maybe I should've. Maybe I should've taken him up on it. Because I think he did care. Or wanted to. I don't know. But now I don't even have the chance, do I?!"

Big walked back over to Manic and placed a hand on his shoulder as if telling him it was alright. "Did you listen to a word I said? Of course you've got a chance. You've just gotta find it. Like I said, he ain't dead, is he? Where there's life, there's hope. Cliche as that may be."

"I… no. You're right. As long as he's still there. There's a chance. So. I swear I'm not gonna stop till I get Chuck— no, till I get Dad back to normal. And then I'll tell him how I really feel. And no-one's gonna stop me!"

"That's the spirit kid! And remember. I'm willin' to help ya every step of the way."

Manic continued to rub his eyes, the tears finally beginning to come to a halt. "Thanks, Big. You know, you'd be a really good dad."

Big rubbed the back of his neck. "That's a new one. Still though. Thanks, kiddo. No-one's ever said that to me before."

"Well, maybe they've should've. Hey, you don't mind comin' over to dinner tonight, do ya? Sonia was going to try and make some chili-dogs for me and Sonic, try and cheer us up. But I wouldn't mind if you came along."

"You sure, kiddo? You're gonna need an awful lot of chili dogs."

"Hey, don't worry about it. Besides, it's the least I can do."

Big looked at Froggy, almost as if asking him what he wanted to. "Ah, to heck with it. You want me there, you've got me."

"Great! I'll see you there! And really, Big. Thanks." He rushed off, eager to find Sonia and Sonic after his little epiphany. And all Big could do was sigh like he didn't know right from left.

"Froggy, what in the world am I gettin' myself into?"

"RIBBIT!"

* * *

Sonic groaned. What hit him? At first he thought he'd had a hell of a bender, but he didn't really drink. So that couldn't have been it. He tried to think back to earlier, to before he wound up wherever he was. He had been racing in the woods because of… because of Chuck. Then Mina and Tails managed to talk some sense into him. And then—

And then he passed out. Oh yeah. That's right.

He rubbed his eyes as he took a look around, wondering where Tails and Mina had hauled him off to. He was in a hospital bed in the medical wing, with a plate of chili dogs placed right at his bedside. He gobbled them up like a fiend.

"Finally up?" Sonic looked towards the foot of the bed. Sally was sitting in a chair, reading a book. 'Twilight of Gaea,' it said. It seemed to be some sort of philosophy book or another. Not that he cared.

"Sal! What are you doin' here? Don't you still have a bunch of big leader stuff to take care of?"

"I do. But even leaders need a break every now and then. I was on my way to enjoy some alone time when I ran into Tails and Mina carrying you around like a sack of meat."

"Oh." He supposed that wouldn't be remembered as his proudest moment. "Saw that, did ya?"

"In any case, Tails still had to do some work in the lab and Mina needed to work on her new song. So I decided to keep an eye on you in their place. Besides, I wanted to get some reading in any way. And this was as good a place as any.

"Thanks, Sal," said Sonic. "You know, a month or so back, I might've called you and Tails out. Said I didn't need anyone checkin' up on me. Things sure have changed, huh?"

"Yes. Back when…" She could barely say it. "Back when daddy was still around. Before…"

Sonic placed a hand on Sally's shoulder. "Hey, it's alright, Sal. I understand. Especially after Chuck."

"Thanks, Sonic. But I'm alright. Back when daddy was still around, I still felt I had something prove. That I was right and he was wrong. Of course, I also wanted to save the kingdom from one of the worst monsters it's ever known, but that was certainly part of it. I keep thinking back to then. About how perhaps I could have done things differently. But the end's always the same." A tiny tear trickled down her face like a small stream before she wiped it away. "That said. If Mother was still around, maybe none of this would've happened. Maybe things would've been different."

"Mother?" Sonic tried to hop out of bed, only to find himself nearly falling face first on the floor. He stopped himself just in time, staying under the sheets for the time being. "You never told me you had a mom."

"You never asked. Though I don't mind talking about her. Mother was everything daddy usually isn't. While still embodying his ideals. She was so sweet. So kind. So loving. And incredibly flexible. Among other things. She and Daddy completed another. When she… died, it was like half of Daddy died with her. And I can't say I was ever really the same either."

"That's rough," said Sonic. He tried again to get off the bed, only to find himself not faring any better than the first attempt. "I can't say if it was like that with me and Chuck, but we were still pretty close. But now?"

"Hey, don't get so down! You've still got a chance."

"I guess. I just wish I knew how to use it. I don't have the first clue about getting him back to normal. Didn't Rotor say roboticization was permanent?"

"Yes, he did. That said, there might be a way. Apparently, your uncle said something before Eggman robotized him. Something about a ring?"

Sonic thought back to that day. When Chuck was turned into nothing but a shell of himself before his very eyes. He didn't want to remember. Didn't want to see it play out in front of him all over again. But if Sally was right, then he may not have had much of a choice.

"Yeah, I think so. Not really sure what it meant though."

"Well, Nicole's trying to figure that out. She's combing through database after database in the hopes that whatever Chuck was talking about is in there somewhere. Or at least plans for it. Because knowing Chuck, it probably wasn't just some average ring."

"Any idea what it might do?"

"We're not sure, but it's worth a shot. It's better than just doing nothing."

"I hear that. Thanks though. It means a lot."

"Well, it's the least we could do. The least I could do. That isn't something anyone should have to go through."

"Yeah. Thanks. Though it still sucks. Your dad's still stuck in the Special Zone, right?"

"Yes. We've been trying to get him out ever since Eggman tossed him in there. But no such luck."

"Must be a lot of things you want to say to him, huh?"

"Of course. There are all sorts of things I'd want to tell him. What I've been up to in his absence. That I'm doing my best to make him proud. And…" her eyes began to tear up like a fine mist. "…that I wish he were here. And that I still love him. Even after all he's done."

"Again, sorry. I still feel like I should've done something, ya know? But I guess nothin's gonna come from worrying. Still wish I could help ya though. Just wave my wand, say the magic words and POOF! Problem solved! Like magic."

The words took a moment to register for Sally, like water running through a narrow hole in a block of wood. But eventually, they became crystal clear. And she sprung up out of her seat like a jack in the box. "THAT'S IT!"

"Uh, I'm not following. What's 'it' exactly?"

"Magic, that's what!"

"Uh, Sal? I hate to break it to you, but you know magic isn't real, right?"

"That's what most people think. But I've seen it. About a year back, we had an honest to God court mage. Ixus Naugus. Of course, he vanished not long after. But he was there for years. And some of the stuff he did may well have been miracles."

"Right. Well, I believe that you believe it."

Sally slammed her book shut, her priorities shifting in the span it took to close it. "If science can't get Daddy back, maybe magic can. Maybe it can even turn all the Robians back to normal!"

Sonic instantly thought about Chuck. If this had even a chance of helping him, then maybe it wasn't such a passing fancy after all. "Hey, whatever you say. Besides, if there's even a chance of getting your Dad and Chuck back, I'll take it. But where do we start?"

"That's actually pretty easy! See, we've been hearing rumors of someone up near the Bridge Zone. Someone claiming to be a mage. Now, mages and wizards aren't that common and most of them are crackpots, so we haven't really given her the time of day. But if there's any chance she's the real deal…"

"…then it's worth checking her out," said Sonic. "So what's her name anyway?"

"Ebony. Ebony Black."


	52. Notice on Chapters 2 and 3

Hi there, everyone! It was recently brought to my attention that Chapter 3 is a repeat of Chapter 2. This was not intended to be the case. Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 were both supposed to be different Chapters altogether. What this does mean is that there was a Chapter missing. Hopefully that should now be fixed. Sorry if anyone ended up feeling confused. Anyway, that should be it. Next Chapter should hopefully be up in a few days. See you then!


	53. Deus Ex Machina, Part 1

"Are we done yet? Please tell me we're done. Not sure if I can take much more of sittin' around like a hunk of metal."

Shortfuse was sitting in a chair in the center of a small lab, his neck connected to a giant computer right behind him with a long, wide tube. The lab itself was filled with all sorts of machines and doodads, as though it had everything any scientist or computer expert could want. Or at least as much as one could fit in a small village in the middle of a forest anyway.

As for the computer, Nicole was sitting right atop it, connected with a long, thick red wire. Her screen was flicking back and forth, almost as though she were running some sort of logistics program. "SORRY— sorry about that, Shortfuse, but not just yet. Besides, I thought you were the one who wanted to make sure you weren't going to turn into a killer Badnik and slaughter everyone like some wild beast. Or am I imagining things?"

Shortfuse was cut to the quick. "That's not—!"

"Oh, I think it is. Or else we wouldn't be having this conservation, would we?"

Shortfuse wasn't too pleased. "Mind your own business."

"Oh, I do. But the minute you came to me for help, it became my business. Now, if you would please stop bellyaching, perhaps we could get somewhere."

"If you say so." Shortfuse lay back in his chair, his eyes gazing up at the ceiling as though he wasn't sure what to make of anything. "Hey, since when did you start talkin' like everyone else? Didn't you use to talk like Bobbie the Robot most of the time?"

"Yes. I suppose I did. I guess I'm trying to make myself seem more… Mobian. To try and understand you all better. Perhaps if I did so, I might have been able to help Antoine's father. Or at least help Antoine grieve."

"Hey, Ant's a big boy. He can take care of himself. I think."

"That is not the point. To be honest, ever since that day, I've begun to wonder."

Shortfuse leaned his head back further, his interest starting to become piqued. "Wonder what?"

"If this is all there is to me. If all I am is some handheld computer who can't be counted on when needed most. I'm not even widescreen for Gaea's sake!"

"Hey, you are what you are. We all are. Ain't nothin' gonna change that."

"I wonder."

"Wonder what?"

"If you what you say is true. Or if perhaps I can truly change. In more ways than one. If I could truly change, then perhaps I could prevent something like that from happening again. Plus…"

"Oy. Didn't know androids were such talkers. Plus what?"

Nicole's monitor flashed, briefly showing an image of the night sky. It was just as beautiful as in person. "I've always dreamed of seeing the stars. That is to say, I have seen them. But as a machine. As a little rectangular computer who can't even move around without another providing transportation. I would still wish to see them as you do. To gaze up at the stars and bask in their full splendor. To know them for the beauty and wonder they possess. Perhaps one day."

Shortfuse scoffed, the very notion ridiculous to him. "Well, if you ever suddenly spawn a pair of legs and start walkin' round Knothole, let me know. In the meantime, I got my own crap to deal with."

"Yes, I believe we've gone over that quite sufficiently."

"It's just, bein' stuck in here like a sardine can, it's hell. Plain and simple. It's like I'm trapped in some prison. Like solitary confinement. Can't feel nothin' or touch nothin' or do nothin'. But honestly? Sometimes I'm… I'm afraid. Afraid that if things go back to the way they were, the whole thing's just gonna start up all over again. And who knows if we'd be gettin' out of there in one piece? But I'm also afraid that the longer this thing stays on, the more I'm gonna lose myself. And if I do, it ain't gonna be pretty. It's like I'm…"

"…trapped?" said Nicole. "If I may be quite candid, I've started to feel the same way. Not exactly, obviously. But when you get down to it, I'm still entrapped within a prison full of metal and circuits. Stuck within one little metal container, unable to feel the breath of the wind or the warmth of one's caress. At least you've had that privilege."

Shortfuse chuckled a bit as though he'd just heard a rather funny joke. "Feelin' the wind, maybe. Feelin' the 'warmth of one's caress' not so much. When all you're doin' is tryin' to make ends meet, you don't really got time for romance."

"I see. But you have the time now, do you not?"

"I guess. But stuck in this sardine can, what chance do I got?"

"I suppose. Still. If I were Mobian…"

Shortfuse cocked his head, his interest piqued. "You'd what? Least you can do is spit it out. I'm curious."

"Well—"

"HELL!"

All of a sudden Shortfuse was screaming in agony, as though every cell in his body was needling with pain. He crashed to the floor prone, shaking and shouting like a madman.

"Shortfuse!" Nicole ran through her systems, trying to find someone to help Shortfuse. Because whatever it was, it wasn't normal. She needed to call someone, anyone. Sally and Tails were up with Mina, Sticks, and Big up north. Off to see a 'wizard for some harebrained reason. So that just left the rest of the Science Team. In particular, Tekno.

She called her up, not waiting for an answer. "Tekno, this is Nicole! Something's terribly wrong with Shortfuse! He just started screaming in agony until he collapsed! I'm still not sure what to do in this particular scenario! Please get here as soon as you can!"

She waited. And waited some more. And continued to wait. And cursed the fact that waiting was about all she could do.

She would have to do something about that.

* * *

"I must admit, it does defy expectations. And every single rule of science."

Tekno was looking over Thunderbolt in the workshop, mulling over a monitor and taking a look at what made her tick. Namely the various cybernetics that gave her her unique abilities. Typically someone like Rotor or Porker would be taking a look, but the fact was that the both of them already had. And they weren't quite sure what to make of it.

"Well, what can you say?" Thunderbolt was lying down on a table as Tekno examined her with an x-ray. "It's Doctor Eggman! Sure, he may be a would-be genocidal dictator, but he's still a genius!"

"I hope you realize that praising the man you just apparently defected from doesn't make you look particularly trustworthy."

"Oh, right. Sorry. I guess old habits die hard."

Tekno turned off the x-ray, apparently having gotten the results she wanted. "Just what did you see in him anyway?"

"Probably the same sort of thing you did at first. He was a visionary. A genius! Someone who could make you feel that you were more special than anything or anyone else! And who could make you special too. Someone you wanted to hug and kiss until you smothered him!"

Tekno attempted to bury that particular mental image in her noggin as best she could. "I would not go that far. But you may have a point."

Thunderbolt slowly started to slouch like a drunk sobering up. "And then reality rears its ugly head. And you see him for what he really is. And then you're not sure what to do with yourself."

"When did you anyway? See him for what he truly was, I mean? Because I am quite sure it was long before you decided to defect."

"Oh. That. It's kind of hard to talk about actually."

"Well, I'm still examining the results I have here." She pointed to a computer screen in front of her. "I believe we have the time."

"If you say so. Well, it was at a meeting for all of the Egg Bosses and some of the other staff. Myself included. It was for the big operation from a few days back. Eggman called everyone in, both to tell them about the plan and to let them know what it meant to fail him. He took one of his Egg Foremen from an earlier botched operation. 'Tassel Boy,' he called him. And then…" Thunderbolt winced her hands as though she almost didn't even want to think of what happened next.

"Is there something wrong?"

"And then he made him explode."

If Tekno had been drinking a cup of coffee, she would have done a spit-take. "I beg your pardon?"

"No, wait. First he stopped all his bodily functions. Paralyzed him from head to toe. And then he shot him out of a cannon. And THEN he exploded!"

"Gaea. Are you certain you are not making this up? Or perhaps contracted food poisoning?"

"You think I didn't wish I was making this up?! I wish to Gaea that I was! But I'm not. He put that guy in screensaver mode and made him go kablooey!"

"But why? And more importantly how?"

"Apparently it has something to do with our cybernetics. He can stop them with so much as a button press if he thinks we're getting out of line. Or make them blow up. As for blowing up Tassel Boy, he said it himself. It was a demonstration. If we failed him the same way he did, the same thing would happen to us. Still gives me the willies."

"So how come you have not been blown to smithereens? Considering that you are probably number two on his hit list."

"Well. That's actually kinda why I ended up leaving. See, he didn't install any of those in my parts. All they do is give me my powers. Which is great!"

"I see. But why didn't he do it?"

Thunderbolt looked away as though she couldn't bear to look Tekno in the eye. "Because they'd interfere with my powers. And make me blow up without even doing anything. To make a long story short, the parts that let me do what I do are kind of touchy. So touchy that when Eggman tried to install the Lock Up and Blow Up features, he nearly came close to blowing me and him sky high. He didn't have a choice."

"I see. And that's why you left?"

"Kinda. Like I said, I thought Eggman really cared about me, you know? I thought he was someone you could look up to. Admire."

"And the fact that he wanted to put explosives in your chest caused you to have a massive reality check?"

"Yeah. I just thought I was different. That I wasn't someone he could just toss around like some commodity and call it a day."

Tekno continued going over the x-ray, making sure that there weren't any nasty unexpected cybernetics or other such oddities."It sounds like it couldn't have been further from the truth."

"Yeah. I mean, I started to have doubts even before then. He almost left me to die you know."

"And then seeing him deploy a group of innocent, brainwashed troops firsthand like lambs to the slaughter was the final tipping point."

"I guess. I just couldn't be a part of that anymore. Though I'll be honest. A small part of me wonders if maybe, just maybe I could go back. If things could be the way they were. But that would mean closing my eyes and shutting everything else off. Nevermind maybe giving him a chance to try and put those explosives in me." She shuddered and shook, almost as if in shock.

"You still love him then?"

Thunderbolt balked as though she'd been shot in the heart. "What? No! No. Of course not! Well, mostly. I guess I'd be lying if I said there wasn't the teeniest part of me that still had a crush on him. Still trying to work on that."

"To be honest, I wasn't trying to judge or condemn you. At least you know what love is. That is a step up from me." For a moment, Tekno looked straight into the middle of nowhere, her eyes vapid and unfocused. Her hands began to shake, and her fingers twitched ever so slightly. She then closed her eyes as if willing herself to focus, everything gradually snapping back to their usual states. And the mask of relative normalcy returned.

"I've never been in love," she said. "Not truly. I've been mildly attracted to a few people here and there, but never anything more than that. There has never been anyone I have ever felt so strongly for that I wanted to be with them above all else. And on the very rare occasions I have, I have never been able to put my feelings into words or act upon them. Partly because of my condition. And partly because of how I think they might have reacted if they found out. So even if it was strongly one-sided on your part, at least you know how that feels. If nothing else."

Thunderbolt wasn't sure if she was being praised or insulted. "Uh, thanks I guess? But that said. Even if I wanted to go back, Eggypoo— sorry, Eggman would probably skewer me the second I showed my face. So that's a no-no. No matter what feel."

"I suppose. To be perfectly honest, I still don't completely trust you. I don't imagine anyone here does. But at the very least, you don't seem to be malicious. In any case—"

Suddenly the phone rang like a warning bell. "Interesting," she said. "If you will excuse me."

She fluttered over to the phone and picked it up, all while it was outright blaring at her. "Hello? Nicole? What seems to be the—" And then she listened. Listened to all of it. Including the fact that Shortfuse seemed to be suffering a nervous breakdown. And for just a moment, her voice became ever so monotone. "I'll be there right away. I'll give Rotor and Porker a call too. In the meantime, try analyzing his systems, see what is wrong. I will see you shortly."

"What's going on?" asked Thunderbolt.

"I'd say it was nothing you should be too concerned about, but if this is what I think it is, I suppose it will concern everyone. Something is wrong with Shortfuse. And I need to go take a look. This will have to wait."

"Hey, can I come?" said Thunderbolt. She hopped off the table she had been sitting on, eager for action. "If something's happening, I want in! Beats sitting around doing nothing."

"Actually, that might not be such a bad idea. If this is what I think it is, you could prove most useful."

"Of course I'd be useful! I'm always useful! Useful with what exactly?"

"You'll see. In any case, I still need to make a few calls. When I'm done, we're heading over."

"Great! Trust me, you're not gonna regret it!"

And as Tekno pinched her brow, she already started to believe she just might at that.

* * *

"This isn't good."

Nicole was now in Tekno's hand. She was standing over Shortfuse, still writhing and twitching like he was about to vomit. Rotor was kneeling beside Shortfuse, desperate to see if there was anything he could make out or do to help. And Porker was sitting in front of the computer, analyzing any and all recent activity. Whatever was causing Shortfuse so much pain, they'd find it. The only question was whether they'd find it in time.

"Is there something wrong, Nicole?" said Tekno.

"You could say that. I've just finished analyzing Shortfuse's systems and I think I've detected the problem. His AI systems are starting to come back online."

Porker winced. "That REALLY doesn't sound good."

"Quite," said Tekno. "If his Badnik AI fully activates, it will no doubt try to kill us all. Or relay our location to Eggman."

Thunderbolt nearly ran in terror. "Oh please don't let him find me don't let him find meDON'TLETHIMFINDME—!"

"Hey, relax!" said Rotor. "He's not going to find you. Not as long as that jammer's working anyway. But yeah, this isn't good. What we need to do is hack into Shortfuse's systems and either try to shut the AI down or get rid of it altogether."

"Agreed," said Tekno.

"Honestly though, I'm not sure what even set it off. That thing had been defunct for over a month. It wasn't going to just turn back on its own. Something must have made it go haywire. Not sure what though."

"In any case, that's what we need to find out. Nicole. I hate to ask this of you, but we don't have much of a choice. You need to go into Shortfuse's systems. See what is wrong and shut down the AI if possible. But don't go too far."

Nicole considered Tekno's words ever so carefully, at least at first. But it wasn't long before she realized just what they truly meant. And it wasn't long after that that that she became a flustered wreck. "You can't be serious."

"I am. As far as I can see, this is the only way to save Shortfuse. I could attempt to hack into his systems myself, but this is far more efficient. And a lot less time-consuming."

"You're right, of course. But I just don't know if I'm truly up to it. If I can do what needs to be done. I still remember Antoine's father. How I tried my best to save him. And how I failed miserably. And I'm not sure if I could continue to exist if I failed again."

"HEY!" A spark of electricity surrounded Thunderbolt as her temper flared up, almost as if illustrating her current state of being. "That's quitter talk! Don't be so down on yourself! The only thing stopping you from doing what you've gotta do is you! You hear me?!"

Rotor got up from his knees and looked Nicole straight in her monitor. "She's got a point. Much as I hate to say it. Look, Nicole. I know what it's like to try and save someone only to fail. But you can't blame yourself for what happened. Because if you do, you'll just eat yourself up inside. And you won't be good to anyone. The only thing you can do is move forward. And help who you can. Does any of that make sense?"

Nicole's monitor remained perfectly still with no pops or lines of static to be seen. Could she move forward? Could she do what needed to be done? Or would she just fail again? Like she failed Marcus?

Shortfuse groaned as though he were about to puke. As every single ounce of him was about to hurl itself onto the floor. And she knew what she had to do. "Not completely. But I have to try."

"That's the spirit," said Rotor.

"Indeed," said Tekno. "And besides, you won't be alone. With Sonia as she is, she should be able to accompany you into Shortfuse's systems. And so can Thunderbolt."

Thunderbolt was shocked. Metaphorically speaking. "Excuse me?"

"Your powers involve control over electricity, correct? As well as the ability to turn yourself into it."

She gulped. "Uh, yeah, but I haven't really used it that often. Only once in a blue moon, if that!"

"In that case, consider this a blue moon. Do you want to prove yourself? Prove that you want to change? That you deserve to be here? This is it."

Thunderbolt stuttered and started, sparks of electricity flying from her person until she finally relented. "Oh, fine! Though I guess you're right. Just don't blame me if one of you gets shocked."

"That settles it then," said Tekno. She turned to Nicole. "Any questions before we begin?"

"Not really," said Nicole. "Besides. I know what it's like to be trapped. And if I don't help Shortfuse, he'll be trapped more than ever. So I'm not just going to leave him like this. And besides. This might just give me a chance to try out something I've been working on for a while."

She focused. Concentrated. Thought about her mission. What she had to do. And of Shortfuse. And began to upload her conscience right into his being. And the only thing she hoped was that this time, she wouldn't fail.


	54. Deus Ex Machina, Part 2

"Are we there yet?"

Thunderbolt, Sonia, and Nicole were traveling throughout cyberspace, soaring throughout it almost like jets. It wasn't much to look at it. At the moment, it was one ever-expanding expanse of black with green lines spanning throughout like a grid. With any luck, that would change when they got to the heart of the matter. In any case, Sonia was still a bright pink Mobian mass of energy, though she at least wasn't a laser. In cyberspace, that didn't seem to be a requirement for going decently speedily.

On the other hand, Thunderbolt was now a being of pure electricity. Her body was a bright yellow, crackling and sparking like a bolt from on high. "Seriously, we there yet? Because for traveling along at the speed of light, this is still goin' pretty darn slow."

"Oh, hush," said Nicole. Of the three of them, her form had undergone the most drastic alteration. In that she actually had a form. Before, she was just a computer. A small little handheld laptop with no true identity to call its' own. But now? Now was a different story. Her 'body' for lack of a better term was that of a Mobian Lynx dressed in a gorgeous purple dress draped around her body like loose a bandage. And she couldn't have been happier if she tried.

"Hey there, Nicole," said Sonia. Loving the new look. It's so cute! When you'd come up with it?"

"To be honest, I've actually been working on this for a while. Although this wasn't exactly how I wanted to debut it. To make a long story short, I've been… imagining."

"Imagining what?" said Thunderbolt "Of being more than some program trapped on a computer screen?"

"Quite. I had been designing such a body for some time now. I'm still applying the finishing touches, but I'm hoping that it will be done sooner than later. Of course, I'm not sure if I'll actually be able to create it. But if I can? Then perhaps I can at last be free. And finally see the stars. That I long for more than anything."

"Hey, whatever floats your boat." Sonia gently touched against the crystal in the center of her chest, poking and prodding it before leaving it be. "It's pretty cool. If a bit unexpected. Congrats!"

Nicole blushed. "Thank you! Still though. If I could just be out there on my two feet, that would be more than I could hope for."

"Yeah, well— FUCK!" Thunderbolt managed to bring herself to a sudden stop like a train hitting the emergency breaks just in time, and the others did the same. Out of nowhere, they were face to face with a gigantic white wall, stretching as high and as far as they could see. "Uh, yeah. We're gonna need a hell of a ladder to get over THAT thing. Any ideas?"

"Must be Shortfuse's AI!" said Sonia. "Or whatever's causing him to go haywire!"

"I'm not so certain about that," said Nicole. She slowly floated towards the wall, almost as if analyzing it. As though she were performing a study. "I think this might actually be from Shortfuse himself. Or at least in part."

"Seriously? But why'd he wanna keep us out? I mean, he pretty much keeps everyone out, but—"

"Exactly. He rarely lets anyone in. And when he does, he's still always keeping his guard up. It's as though it's ingrained into his very being. Even if he doesn't realize it."

"So that's why there's a wall."

"Exactly."

"Well," said Thunderbolt, "we've still gotta get through somehow." She turned herself into a drill of bright, crackling electricity and tried her best to bore into it. Not that it mattered. She didn't even make a dent. "Seriously?! How come electricity can't bore through rock?! That should be a crime! Maybe a hammer—"

"I don't think that's going to work," said Nicole. "There are two ways we're going to be able to go on through. One is to get in touch with Shortfuse's subconscious. To convince him that we are not a threat and that we only wish to help."

"And the other way?" said Sonia.

"The other way is to hack into his systems and bypass it. Though I suppose we won't have much choice." She closed her eyes and concentrated before opening them again. They became oval-shaped streams of data, shooting it from her sockets and sending it to the wall. The wall gradually became more and more transparent until it was just ghastly enough that you could walk through it and barely notice it. Almost like a ghost.

Thunderbolt whistled as though that wasn't something she had been expecting. "Hella' impressive!"

"I'll admit, I wasn't even sure if I could pull it off. But it won't last forever. Follow me. Once we make it through here, we should arrive within Shortfuse's systems. It should just sort of appear. Or at least that's how we'll see it."

"I just want to get this over with," said Sonia. "Case you couldn't tell, I've got my own problems."

"That's right," said Thunderbolt. "You got stuck as some sort of energy thing, didn't ya? Can't you just think of yourself as human again, will yourself back to normal? That's what I do with my lightning form."

"I tried, but nothing works. Everything's that me's stuck in this crystal. Well, okay, this isn't even the real thing; the real one's stuck out there. Couldn't exactly shrink it. But far as I can tell, this right here? It's just a projection. Everything's out there. And I'm not sure I can ever go back. Now I'm starting to know how Shortfuse feels."

Green droplets started to form in Nicole's eyes, almost like mist. She hovered towards Sonia, briefly hugging her before urging her to action. "Trust me, Sonia. I know how you feel. But we have to move on. Besides, if you know how he feels, then surely you know we wouldn't want things to get any worse."

"Yeah. Let's get moving. Though I'm still gonna kill that damn fox."

"Quite. In any case, we still have someone to save. Shall we?"

* * *

"Any word on their progress?"

Back in the lab, Tekno and the others were still trying to monitor the situation while making sure Shortfuse didn't get any worse than he was. He was still shaking and screaming, almost as though he were about to implode.

"I think they just made it into Shortfuse's system," said Porker. Still sitting in front of the computer, he had also taken Sonia's crystal and had placed it safely inside the computer's lower compartment. Tekno had seen some rather curious things in her time, but having one's very essence contained within a bauble was something else entirely. Though she supposed it wasn't really that different from Nicole in the grand scheme.

"Thank goodness." She turned to Rotor. "How is Shortfuse holding up?"

"He's not getting any better, but I don't think he's getting any worse. So far anyway. You still might want to keep everyone on standby. Because if he does—"

And then Shortfuse stopped.

"Oh, Gaea."

"Rotor!" said Tekno. "Examine his systems immediately! See if—"

And then he hurled Rotor straight into the nearest well.

"ROTOR!"

"Oh hell!" said Porker.

Shortfuse slowly got up from where he lay like a corpse. His movements were stiff, robotic, lifeless. Almost as though whatever was in charge wasn't even Mobian. Which wasn't far from the mark.

"CYBER BADNIK UNIT'S SYSTEMS OPERATIONAL. CYBER BADNIK UNIT WILL USE DESIGNATION CB. CB READY FOR DUTY."

"Porker!" yelled Tekno. "Sound the alarm! We need everyone over here ASAP!"

"Uh, right!" He slammed down on a big red button. The moment he did, a loud, blaring alarm resounded throughout the lab and the entire encampment. Assuming no-one was off hiking in the woods or thereabouts, they'd be there shortly.

"CB HAS ASSESSED THAT YOU HAVE ALERTED OTHERS TO ITS PRESENCE," said Shortfuse. "THAT WAS VERY UNWISE." It began to lift up it's wrist, preparing to blow a hole in Porker's noggin. Before Porker could so much as yelp, Rotor tackled Shortfuse from behind, restraining his arms and keeping him contained. Not that he didn't struggle as much as he could.

"I've got him!" said Rotor. "Somehow! He's almost as strong as me!"

"'ALMOST' IS AN INACCURATE ASSESSMENT." He reared his head back, bashing Rotor's face in like he'd just been socked. Rotor managed to keep his grip, but that didn't exactly stop the nosebleed.

"Hell! This one's tough!"

Suddenly, Tekno had a eureka moment. She looked towards Porker's side. Sure enough, his gloves were sitting right next to him. Just as she ordered. "Porker! Put on the gloves!"

"Huh? Oh! Right!" He did as asked without delay. He concentrated, closing his eyes and putting all his focus into one point. And like a master pianist, he went to work. His fingers twitched and flicked, twiddling like crazy until he achieved his goal. And suddenly, Shortfuse found himself hovering in the air like a meatsack, stiff as a board. And unable to do anything other than watch.

"Thank you, Porker," said Tekno. She watched Shortfuse as he tried his best to struggle and fight it, to break free. For now, Porker was holding it. But the question was whether it would last forever. "How long do you think you will be able to hold him?"

"If he was just some slab of metal? Until doomsday. But this is Shortfuse we're talking about. Even if can't really do anything, he's still struggling as much as he can. I can hold him for a while, but I'm not sure I can do it forever." He wiped a few beads of sweat from his brow, already starting to feel the strain.

"I see. For now, cancel the alert. But keep everyone on standby. If Nicole and the others can't shut down the AI shortly, then we may need everyone we have.."

"And if they can't shut it down?"

Tekno hesitated. She wanted to save Shortfuse at any cost. But would she be able to? If it came down to choosing between him and everyone else, could she do what had to be done? "If they can't, then we shall have to go from there. And do what we must. So let us hope they can."

* * *

"I must admit. This wasn't what I was expecting."

Nicole had been anticipating just about anything. A cybernetic fortress, a web of numbers and circuits, things one would expect to find in a network. Instead, it was much more akin to a palace, painted in red and gold. It was superficially technological to be sure, but it was still unlike anything she had ever seen.

"I was," said Thunderbolt. "Eggypoo— sorry, Eggman likes everything to be as luxurious as possible. He's got a room for prisoners that would make most anyone blush. It's pretty snazzy!"

"Eh. I've seen better," said Sonia. "Dad never spared a cent when it came to living space. Probably lived like kings. Don't know if I've got much use for any of that now though."

"In any case," said Nicole, "we need to head further in. "They were currently standing in the middle of the front floor. Long, spiraling staircases led upward while winding halls went in all directions, and a grand chandelier hung overhead.

"So we gonna split up?" said Thunderbolt.

"Not unless we want to get ourselves killed," said Nicole. Covering more ground doesn't do anyone any good when they can pick you off one by one. Besides, I have a hunch that what we're looking for is further up. So that is where we want to go.

As soon as she took a single step, she stopped in her tracks. "Hold on." She could sense it. Something was up there. Lying in wait. Waiting for anyone to take so much as a single step forward and wind up right in its' clutches. "Thunderbolt, do you know what sorts of defenses Eggman may have installed in some of his AI? Anything that could prove dangerous to anyone attempting to hack it?"

"Dangerous? I laugh in the face of danger! Let me at 'em!"

"Thunderbolt, please. I need to know."

"Fine, fine. Whatever. Anyway, some AI got fully fleshed out personalities, like Scratch or Grounder. I mean, they're nincompoops, but they're still sentient. And those ones don't tend to have so many defenses because of that. But others like Badnik AI are a lot more robotic and tend to have defenses up the whazoo. Especially for the more heavy-duty ones. Such a genius!"

"Which is understandable. Except in that case, why doesn't this AI seem to have any such defenses?"

Thunderbolt took a moment to think it over, looking around as though any sorts of defenses should have been right around the corner. Not that they were. "Huh. I dunno. There should've been something by now."

"Hold on a minute," said Sonia. "Somethin' seems fishy."

"Indeed," said Nicole. "Almost as if—"

Suddenly, an inky, jet black tendril emerged from the upper stairwells, lashing out at Nicole like a lance. She disappeared in a flash of pink light and reappeared a ways away not a second later, dodging the blow in the nick of time.

"Nicole!" said Sonia, reaching out for her as she did.

Thunderbolt zipped out of the way, almost like teleporting. "That was close!"

The tendril didn't waste a moment in upping the ante. As soon as it made its presence known, another one popped out, striking at Nicole and the others in an attempt to grab and crush them like brittle bones. Or worse. And then came another. And another one. And another one and another one and another and another, ad nausem. With Nicole and the others narrowly dodging the lot of them all the while. And then they stopped.

"Sons of—" Waves of static rippled around Thunderbolt. They resounded throughout the area, nearly causing Nicole and Sonia to flicker like a TV set with a bad signal. "They wanna play hardball? Fine! I'll show em—"

"Thunderbolt!" Nicole managed to quickly get herself together and stamp her foot, doing her best to restore order before there wasn't any to be restored. "I know that was… unsettling, but do not go off half-cocked just because things are actually starting to get difficult. Besides, we don't know what could be up those stairs. Whatever it is, we need to be prepared. Or did working as one of Eggman's Eggbosses teach you nothing about working as a unit?"

Thunderbolt crossed her arms and grumbled before giving in. "You've got a point. I guess. Still wanna make her pay though."

"Same here," said Sonia. "But that's not what we're here to do. Much as I wish it were."

"Right," said Nicole. "We mustn't forget that ultimately, this isn't about us."

"OH, I THINK IT IS."

A loud, high-pitched voice echoed throughout the palace. It was almost like nails on a chalkboard, with the only thing keeping Nicole and the others from holding their hands to their ears being that the senses didn't always work the same way in cyberspace as the real world. But there was more to it than that. Because somewhere deep inside, there was something that was somehow familiar. Like an old tune that one swears they know, but they can't remember the notes. Case in point, Nicole couldn't remember the details, but she still knew the gist. "Do I… know you?"

"THAT'S FOR ME TO KNOW AND YOU TO FIND OUT. THINK OF IT AS A GAME. LIKE TWENTY QUESTIONS! ONLY NOT REALLY. THOUGH TO BE HONEST, I'M SURPRISED YOU MADE IT HERE AT ALL. YOU GAEA FORSAKEN PILE OF SCRAP METAL."

"Uh, Nicole?" said Sonia. "Is she talking bout you?"

"BINGO! BUT THAT'S ENOUGH CHIT-CHAT. MAYBE IF YOU MAKE IT PAST THE NEXT FLOOR, WE CAN PLAY AGAIN. AND MAYBE THEN WE CAN GET SOMEWHERE. TILL THEN, I'LL JUST KEEP TRYING TO KILL YA! THOUGH IT'S NOT LIKE YOU DON'T DESERVE IT." Nicole and the others looked around the room waiting for the voice's words, but none came. For now, it was gone. But it had left behind some most curious implications.

"Uh, Nicole? I know this is next to impossible, or at least it should be. But did that… THING know you? Because it sure sounded like it did."

"Same," said Thunderbolt. "Seems awfully fishy to me! But then again, everything does."

Nicole took a step towards the stairs leading upward, looking up as though staring at whatever was lurking beyond. She knew that voice. She hadn't heard much of it and only knew it from recordings and tapes, but she knew it all the same. But it couldn't be. Because if it was? Then that would mean everything she knew would be turned on its' head. And the thought terrified her.

Still. Shortfuse needed her. And she couldn't let him down.

"I am not sure," said Nicole, lying for the first time in her existence. She had never lied. The very notion was something that had been alien to her original programming. But then again, a lot of things had been. "But in any case, we need to keep moving. There's no telling what's going on with Shortfuse out there. If we wait too long, it may be too late. Like it or not, we have to move forward."

"Right," said Sonia. "That said. If you ever feel like talking to someone about it, we're willing to listen. Even if we've kinda got other things on our minds.

"Of course. Thank you."

"Sure thing. We still going up?"

"Yes." Nicole stepped towards the stairwells leading up, almost as if anticipating what lay beyond. And perhaps just the slightest afraid. "If we're going to save Shortfuse, that is where we need to go. And perhaps we'll get some answers in the process.

"Hey," said Thunderbolt, "you sure you're not trying to play both sides as some sorta crazy cover-up? Because that would be AWESOME!"

"Don't listen to her, Nicole," said Sonia. "Sure, this whole thing's more than a bit sketchy. But I know you'd never really try anything. Uh, you wouldn't right?"

Nicole shook her head. This was why she had never revealed a single thing about herself. Not until now. Because this was the sort of thing she had expected to get. Doubt. Speculation. Mistrust. Of course, it wasn't a big deal for the time being. But if things didn't change, it might just have been at that.

In any case, Shortfuse still needed saving. She ignored Sonia and Thunderbolt, marching up the stairs and damning the consequences.

"Hey, Nicole—"

She paid them no heed. And didn't intend to. Not until she proved she had no intention of taking after her. And she wouldn't rest until she was dealt with. One way or the other.


	55. Deus Ex Machina, Part 3

"Uh, guys?"

Porker was still holding Shortfuse in place, but it became more of a struggle with each passing second. At a glance he seemed docile, but if one looked carefully, he was making just the slightest of movements. A small shake, a twitch of the finger, a tiny twist of the neck. And they became ever more frequent the longer he was held captive. Either way, something had to give.

In spite of that, Porker was still giving it his all. But he wasn't sure if even that would be enough. "Uh, I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to hold him much longer. It doesn't look like it, but he's trying to break free every second. If Nicole and the others can't break through—"

It all happened before anyone could blink. In one momentous act of sheer willpower, Shortfuse jerked up his hand just enough to aim it at Porker's wrists and fired off one blast from his laser. It wasn't much and didn't do more than stun him, but it was enough to finally cause Porker to lose any scrap of control he had. Shortfuse came crashing down to the ground like a deadweight. But he wasn't down for long.

"Oh crap!" Porker slammed down on the button, sending everyone into action. This time it was for real.

Rotor tried to tackle Shortfuse from behind, but one instance of being blindsided was enough. This time he was ready for him. He listened to Rotor's footsteps, waiting for him to get just close enough to strike. And then backhanded him right in the jaw. He flew through the wall, crashing through it like a truck.

"ROTOR! Not good!" This was bad. Lucky for Tekno, she was ready. She still had her armlets on. She never knew if she would ever need to use them again, but it didn't hurt to be prepared. She lifted two fingers upward and unleashed a small cyclone right underneath Shortfuse's feet, sending him flying towards the ceiling. But not for long. He began jetting out of the cyclone, the jets on his feet carrying him forwards and downward with a sheer speed that he'd never shown before, out of the cyclone's reach. And Tekno was nearly left speechless.

"Not good." She let out a vortex around herself, desperate to keep Shortfuse from getting any closer. He tried to push against it, tried to get in. Until he realized he didn't need to. He lifted up his wrist like a pro and prepared to fire one single blast at Tekno's head.

"TEKNO!" Porker tried to put Shortfuse back into submission, but it wasn't enough. He was already worn out by holding him the first time, and he wasn't up for doing it again. But he had to try. He managed to slow Shortfuse's movements down, but nothing more than that. Shortfuse then raised his fist until it was level with Tekno's head, aimed, and—

Suddenly, something rammed into him like a bullet before bouncing off the same way. It was a bolt of yellow and purple, and it let out a sharp groan as it recoiled off of Shortfuse and tumbled onto the ground. "Owie! That's gonna smart."

"Mina!"

"ATTACK INEFFECTUAL," said Shortfuse. "CB REMEMBERS YOU FROM SHORTFUSE'S MEMORY BANKS. YOU ARE VERY FAST. BUT SPEED IS NOT ENOUGH." He noticed Mina's wrist blades, still strapped around her wrists as tightly as ever. "THOSE MIGHT BE ENOUGH TO DEFEAT THIS UNIT. BUT YOU WOULD ALSO BE KILLING SHORTFUSE IN THE PROCESS. MEMORIES SUGGEST THIS WOULD BE UNTHINKABLE FOR YOU."

Mina looked at their blades. She considered what she might have to do and if she was even capable of doing it. And she wasn't sure if she had an answer. "I don't know. But I can't just let you kill everyone!"

Luckily for Mina, that wasn't something she'd have to worry about. Bunnie burst into the lab through one of the walls, leaving a small Mobian-sized hole. "Stand back, sugar!" She aimed her robotic arm and fired a blast of energy, sending Shortfuse careening through the opposite side of the lab.

"That is coming out of your pay!" shouted Tekno.

"I don't get paid!" said Bunnie. "Sides, we've got bigger fish to fry!" She flew through the wall after Shortfuse, intent on beating the stuffing out of him until they could fix him. Assuming they could.

* * *

"Hey! What the hell is this?!"

Nicole wasn't exactly sure how to answer Thunderbolt's question. Not that she didn't know what it was, but rather that she was somewhat baffled that she was seeing this of all things. They found themselves in the middle of a giant chessboard, with all the pieces appropriately arranged. And at the end of it lay a doorway.

"I believe it's a chessboard," she said.

"I know that! But what the hell is it doing here?"

"Maybe they're just trying to mess with us," said Sonia. She turned to Nicole. "Unless you know something we don't?"

"Possibly," said Nicole. "But I'm still not sure of anything just yet. For now, all we can do is try to make our way through. But I have a sinking suspicion it won't be as easy as it appears."

"Oh, come on!" said Thunderbolt. "It's not like the chess pieces are gonna come alive and kill us or something. Are they?"

As if on cue, the chesspieces suddenly started to move. They came alive, all turning towards Thunderbolt and the others.

Sonia slapped Thunderbolt on the head. Not that she could, but it was the thought that counted. She initially thought she had gotten shocked, but given her current situation, that wasn't something she had to worry about. "Just had to open your big mouth, didn't you?!"

But the chess pieces weren't done. They rose high into the air and began to fly towards the others. And then they crashed down like one thousand ton anvils.

"EVERYONE," said Nicole, "RUN!" Nicole managed to zip away in time, and Sonia and Thunderbolt flew straight away. But the chess pieces just kept coming. "Everyone, get to the exit! Hurry!" They all sped towards the exit with the chess pieces right on their heels, crashing on the board and trying to squash them all the while. They never halted and never slowed, only stopping when all three of them were safely through the door. And even then, only by a thread. Nicole just made it when the King decided it was his turn and nearly squished her to paste. She didn't want to think of it.

Everyone almost started to hyperventilate, but they quickly remembered that in their current states they weren't even capable of it. Not that it had been any less terrifying. "The hell was that?!" said Thunderbolt. "We could've been crushed! I mean, not that electrify can be crushed, but still! Besides, anything goes in here!"

"You're right," said Sonia. "Anything goes. So you shouldn't let something like this surprise you." She turned to Nicole. "That said, WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! I've mostly kept my mouth shut until now, but don't tell me you didn't know anything about this! That thing knows you and it chose those chess pieces for a reason! So what I wanna know is why!"

Nicole sighed. Or at least made an attempt. Not that she could sigh, but it was the thought that mattered. In any event, she wanted to tell them. Wanted to tell the truth. But could she? Or should she? She just didn't know. So she told her as much. "So do I. Sonia, I would be lying if I said I didn't have my suspicions. Or if there weren't things I've kept close to the vest. But until I know for sure, I can't be certain of anything. Do you understand?"

"Come on, Nicole. That thing knows you! It knows you like I know what pizza Manic had for dinner by the splotches on his vest! And it wants you dead. So don't tell us you aren't sure."

Suddenly, Thunderbolt turned to Sonia and crackled like a storm. Even if only for a moment. "Hey, lay off! Look, I know this is gonna sound strange coming for me! Hell, any other day of the week, I'd probably say the same things as you. But I know what it's like to have things you don't really wanna talk about, you know? Things you'd rather forget. So cut her some slack."

"Oy, whatever! Arguing about it isn't going to get us anywhere." She turned to Nicole. "Just say you'll tell us about it when you're ready, alright?"

"I promise," said Nicole. "As soon as I know for certain, I'll tell you everything. But I need to know more before I am."

"That's all I wanted to hear. Still a bit miffed, but what can you do?"

"Right. Come on, everyone!" The lot of them flew up the next set of stairs, wondering what awaited them next. For better or worse.

* * *

Shortfuse crashed like a sack of bricks into the nearest was, sending it tumbling down atop him like a house of cards. Bunnie came rushing in after him like a jet, tackling him and savaging him with both fists before he could get his bearings. If this had a been a month ago, only her robot hand would've been able to phase him. But now? Now she was packing a punch in BOTH arms. She supposed being a freak of nature had its' perks.

"Shortfuse!" she said. "You in there?! Come on! I know you're an SOB, but you're still stubborn as all hell! And I know you wouldn't let some soulless thingamabob take you down! FIGHT IT!"

Shortfuse's eyes suddenly glowed a bright ruby red, even more dazzling than before. One of its' fists sprung up from his side, blocking Bunnie's punch with ease. Or at least that was how it appeared. Bunnie could see right through it. He'd managed to stop it, but his hand was still shaking ever so slightly. As if it were taking all he had to keep her from pounding him into oblivion. But wasn't all it had in store.

"'FIGHT IT?' MOST CURIOUS."

"What you goin' on about?! Come on, Shortfuse!"

"OPPONENT DOES NOT SEEM TO KNOW HOW CB TOOK CONTROL OF SHORTFUSE'S SYSTEMS."

"Again, what in blazes are you goin' on about? That virus or whatever did it! Or at least that's what Tekno said!"

"ONLY PARTIALLY TRUE. IT IS A FACT THAT WHAT YOU DESCRIBED AS A VIRUS DID ALLOW FOR THIS UNIT TO ASSERT ITSELF. BUT THAT WAS ONLY POSSIBLE DUE TO SHORTFUSE REFUSING TO FIGHT AT ALL."

"What now?" That couldn't have been right. Shortfuse was a lot of things, but if nothing else, he was a fighter. Wasn't he?

Not that she could afford to overthink it for much longer. 'Shortfuses' statement had done its' job. It socked Bunnie in the jaw, sending her flying. The only reason she didn't slam through a wall was due to her jet boosters. She turned them back on, correcting and balancing herself until she was floating in mid-air like a buoy.

Still, it appeared CB wasn't done with mind games. It got up like a zombie, staggering but still with plenty of gusto. "UNIT WAS ABLE TO TAKE OVER SHORTFUSE BECAUSE SHORTFUSE REFUSED TO FIGHT. REFUSED TO FIGHT FOR HIMSELF. SUBJECT PUT UP WALLS AROUND SELF. DID NOT WANT OTHERS IN. REFUSED TO GROW. REFUSED TO GET TO KNOW OTHERS BEFORE THEY COULD POSSIBLY BETRAY HIM. OR BEFORE HE COULD BECOME HURT. OR HURT OTHERS. BECAUSE SHORTFUSE BELIEVED THAT WAS ALL HE WAS CAPABLE OF. HOWEVER, SHORTFUSE WAS SO FOCUSED ON ENEMIES FROM WITHOUT THAT HE DID NOT FOCUS ON WITHIN. LEFT HIMSELF VULNERABLE TO ATTACKS. TO ME."

"Shut your piehole!" Bunnie fired off another blast, but CB dodged it like child's play.

"SUBJECT BUNNIE RABBOT IS UPSET. HYPOTHESIS: BUNNIE RABBOT KNOWS THAT CB IS TELLING TRUTH."

The truth was, he may have been right. Shortfuse was never exactly a team player. Never opened up. Never let others in. He followed orders well enough, but it was clear it was never something he was comfortable with. So perhaps there was some truth to it after all.

But that was neither here nor there. She needed to stay focused. Case in point. CB suddenly began spiraling towards like Bunnie like a torpedo while firing his laser, intent on eviscerating her like a drill. Bunnie held out her robot arm and unleashed a bright blue forcefield, but even that might not have been enough. It managed to stop CB for a moment, but it kept on powering through, never stopping for an instant. It kept on drilling against the field, soon creating a heck of a dent. If it kept up, she'd have to think of something else. Providing she wasn't shredded apart like paper.

Lucky for her, some things couldn't be shredded so easily.

A wall of stone shot out of the earth, separating the two cyborgs. Three more walls rose up in rapid succession, and a fourth flew up and fell atop the tops of the other four like closing a box, trapping Shortfuse in the center. Not that it would last for long.

Chirps stood away from the remains of the terrace, fiddling with his collar as he did. "Look at that. Boxed in. Ain't that a hoot?"

Bunnie flew over to Chirps, not hesitating to give herself some breathing room now that she had the chance. "Thanks, Chirps. Where's everyone else?"

"They're comin'. Bein' put back on standby after getting the red alert threw a lot of them off, but they're comin'. That said, Mina should have been here by now. You see her?"

"Uh, yeah. She tried to help, bless her soul, but there wasn't much she could do. Not without slicing him apart."

"Might have to do just that. We can try and hold him off until Nicole does her thing, but if she can't? Then there might not be much we can do 'cept turn him into sushi."

"Oh come on! There's gotta be somethin'! We can't just let Eggman take him over like this!"

"Didn't say we couldn't try. But the fact is, this could get real bad real fast. If he comes close to actually killing someone? Then we might have to kill him first. Sides, he's kind of an ass."

Bunnie wanted so badly to sock Chirps in the jaw. To tell him that under no circumstances would she kill Shortfuse or let anyone else kill him. But for whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to. And she was terrified of why. "Look. I know Shortfuse ain't exactly the nicest of guys. That's for sure. But maybe he's got a reason for that. Not a good reason, but a reason. So maybe we shouldn't be too hard on him. But we darn well can't if he's dead!"

As Bunnie was trying to keep Chirps from skewering Shortfuse on a stone stick, a loud noise like pounding on solid rock resounded from the stone walls. It repeated itself again and again, and large cracks started to rapidly form upon the wall's surfaces."

"Well, that's ominous," said Chirps. He turned to Bunny. "And also proves I've got a point. Hold on a sec." Before Bunnie could blink, the front wall burst open, revealing CB with one fist stretched outward and specks of rubble adorning it. But whatever amount of progress he may have achieved wouldn't last for long. A sinkhole opened up right underneath CB, threating to swallow him into the Earth. He turned on his jet boosters and tried to fly his way out, but the ceiling of the stone box fell right on top of him and the remaining walls followed suit, keeping him busy as the sinkhole continued to grow and expand in a manner that would usually take hours. The walls and ceiling entirely collapsed and he fell into the earth as it closed around him at Shortfuse's command.

Bunnie gaped as though she just saw a homicide before nearly tearing Chirp's red comb off his head. "What did I just say?!"

"Hey, relax. That ain't gonna kill him. Or did you forget he's stuck in a suit that makes him tough as all get out?"

She hadn't thought about that. Most would be crushed to feel the weight of the earth closing in on them. Literally. She was one of the few she thought might be able to survive, and that was only after her entire body had become a freak show. But from what Rotor and the others said, she and Shortfuse were mostly on the same level. So if she could survive, then so could he.

"Oy, fine. Guess it gives us some breathing room. Still though. Shortfuse ain't someone you can just bully around. I know that much. Even without CB or whatever in charge, he's driven as all get out."

Suddenly, a rumbling sounded from beneath the earth. If one listened carefully, it was almost like a drill.

"Watch out!" Bunnie got the word out just in time. She flew away to safety and took Chirps with her, grabbing him by the arms as they flew out before she dropped him. Like a drill, it burrowed out of the Earth, only stopping to gloat.

"INGENIOUS," said CB. "UNFORTUNATELY, INGENUITY IS NOT ENOUGH. SUBJECT CB WILL DECIMATE YOU NOW."

"Well," said Chirps, "looks like we've got his attention!"

"You think?!

CB's eyes flashed, intent on taking things to the next level. It soared forward, intent on beating the crap out of anyone that got in his way. Bunnie grumbled and did the same, matching his fist with hers. Their collision caused a violent shockwave to erupt throughout the area, with Chirps' red comb fluttering in the breeze. "Talk about nearly gone with the wind!"

Bunnie and CB proceeded to throw out fist after fist, each one landing on the other in rapid succession. But what was at first mere reaction suddenly turned into a grand stratagem. Because Bunnie knew something CB didn't. CB may have been little more than a bargain bin AI, but despite that suit of armor surrounding him, Shortfuse was still flesh and blood. Maybe it wouldn't be seen, perhaps it wouldn't be for a while, but he'd eventually tire out. But thanks to Bunnie's recent… developments, she never would. Or if she did, it wouldn't be for a very long time. All she had to do was outlast CB. Keep him punching, keep matching or evading or guarding his blows, and wait until he started to lose his touch. Assuming nothing happened before then, it was foolproof.

Famous last words.

* * *

"GET ME OFF THIS CRAZY THING!"

For once, Nicole agreed with Sonia wholeheartedly. One minute they were walking up the steps, the next, they had been squeezed into a glorified fighter jet and found themselves in a dogfight. In space. The sad thing was, she didn't know what was worse. That they might end up blasted to atoms by star cruisers, or that Thunderbolt was at the helm.

"Oh yeah! This is more like it!" Thunderbolt took firm hold of the steering handle and squeezed it tight, handling it like a pro. Dozens of laser blasts and missiles were coming straight for her, but she dodged each of them with ease. All while shooting down enough planes to make a seasoned pilot blush.

"Okay," said Sonia, "on the one hand, I am completely scared to death. On the other hand, THAT WAS AWESOME! Where'd you learn to do that?!"

"Easy! Back where I lived, we had an arcade! Played Space Conquerers all the time! And this isn't any different from that!"

"On the one hand," said Nicole, "I am quite grateful that you are saving our lives. On the other, do you think you could try and steer us closer to the exit? Sooner than later?" She pointed at a large doorway hanging between a small piece of wreckage in the distance. "If you don't mind."

"Oh, right. Off we go!" Thunderbolt spun the controls and the whole ship made an about-face, blasting towards the exit with the remaining fighters on their tails every step of the way. Nicole and Sonia were screaming at the top of their lungs, but as far as Thunderbolt was concerned, this was what she had been born for. Well, one of the things she was born for at any rate. "YEAH, BABY! WHOO!"

Though perhaps she had been a bit too confident for her own good. Just as she was about to reach the door, one of the fighters hit Thunderbolt's craft right in the thrusters. "Crap!" A large garage door shut behind it, keeping any and all leftover fighters out as the plane skidded to a screeching halt. The trio sat in the cockpit for more than a minute, silent as the grave. Until Sonia couldn't help but break it.

"Are we alive?"

"I believe so," said Nicole. "Though to be honest, if I weren't a computer program, I would probably be shaking in my boots."

As for Thunderbolt, all she could do was shout to the heavens in victory. "HELL YEAH! WE DID IT! WOOT!" She hopped out of the ship and pumped her fist to the air, crowing in triumph. "TAKE THAT!"

Sonia did the same, only slightly dizzy from the whole affair. "Remind me never to go on an airplane with you aboard. EVER." She turned to Nicole. "So. Chess, then bad sci-fi. What's next? Lord of the Dingalings?"

Nicole hovered out of the plane, gracefully stepping on the ground. Though not without coming just short of stumbling first. "Actually, if my guess is correct, I believe we are nearly at our destination." She gestured behind Sonia. At the end of the runway was a humongous golden door, open just slightly ajar. Almost as if daring anyone to step in. "Once we enter it, we should be there. And she should be waiting."

"And just who's she? Less you wanna have us go in blind. We need to know who we're dealing with! And if you know, then you've gotta tell us. No more games."

Nicole sighed or at least imitated the action as much as she could. "I suppose you're right. I didn't want to tell you this because I wasn't sure who it was myself. Not completely. In fact, the very possibility seemed unthinkable. But more and more, it's becoming clear as day.

"What is?"

"In due time. For now, let us start from the beginning. Have any of you ever heard of ?"

"Nope!" said Thunderbolt.

"Same here," said Nicole.

"Yes, well. In some circles, he's had quite a reputation. Some have even hailed him as the father of modern AI. Though he didn't develop it for the most altruistic of reasons. You see, Elidy had a daughter. A real daughter. Her name was Phoebe, and he was quite fond of her. She was quite bright and shared many of the same interests he did. Such as chess. Or science fiction."

At once the wheels began turning in Thunderbolt's head, her form sparking like a lightbulb. "Wait, you don't mean—"

In spite of Thunderbolt's realization, Nicole continued on as though she had been uninterrupted. "However, she also didn't have much of a constitution. Eventually she was struck by a deadly disease. She held on as best she could, but it wasn't enough. And she passed away not long after." Sonia's eyes began to fill with a purple mist, almost as if tearing up. "Are you alright, Sonia?"

"It's, it's alright. Just, thinking about that, it makes me think about Chuck, you know?"

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"That's alright." Sonia wiped her eyes, only to remember that was something of an impossibility at the moment. Instead she tried her best to 'wish' them away. After a second or two, it seemed to do the trick. "So. Not to sound like a total douchebag, but what does this have to do with us?"

"I'm getting to that. In any case, Edily loved his daughter. So much so that he wasn't going to let her go so easily. He decided to put his research of AI to the test. You see, before his daughter's death, he had a stroke of genius. If he could copy his daughter's brainwaves onto an artificial intelligence, he might have been able to save her. Except he needed to create a suitable AI first. A blank slate. Because anything else would cause complications with his daughters existing personality. Which is where I come in."

"Wait. You don't mean—"

"I do. I was created to be the framework for a copy of her personality. Though I suppose it would have been more accurate to call me a host. Something to house her data in. If it had worked, I would have been her. Which is something I still have mixed feelings about."

"But it didn't work, did it?"

Nicole slowly shook her head as if acknowledging the inevitable. "Edily had good intentions, but he acted in haste. If he had more time to prepare, if he had tried to do something sooner, than maybe it would've worked. But it didn't. To this day we still aren't sure what happened, but for one reason or another, the transfer was never completed. Her data was lost, scattered to the four winds of the internet. An incomplete whole. And I was left as little more than an emotionless computer program."

"Yeesh," said Thunderbolt. "What a way to go."

"But that isn't the end of the story. With his daughter gone for good, there wasn't much of a reason for him to keep me around. Instead, he gave me to King Acorn on one of his visits to the Acorn kingdom. The king and Elidy were old friends, and seeing as he didn't have another use for me, he gave me to him. And then he tried to pass me onto Sally as a birthday present. Something to let her know he still cared. And the rest is history."

"But wait. You said the whole transfer thing didn't work, right? So how come you're not an emotionless robot?"

"To be honest, I'm surprised myself. Though that is how I started out. I wasn't that much different from Shortfuse's AI to be honest. But spending time with Sally and the rest of you, well, I suppose something started to rub off. I began to see things differently than I used to. Started to grow beyond the parameters originally set out for me. And here I am."

Sonia stepped forward. "And we wouldn't have you any other way. That said, how does any of this tie into any the crap we just went through?"

"I was just getting to that. Do you remember when I said that Phoebe's data had scattered across the internet?"

"Yup. So what?"

"Well. This is purely speculation on my part, but what if it wasn't as scattered as we thought? What it all of the different pieces still had a connection to one another? And if using that connection, they were able to reconstitute themselves into one single whole?"

Thunderbolt almost jumped out of her static. "So it IS her?!"

"I can't be certain of that. Not just yet. But it makes too much sense. The chess game, the space battle, her familiarity with me. It's too much to ignore."

"So," said Sonia, "assuming it is her, why would she want to kill you? Or destroy or erase you or whatever? She managed to get herself together, right? Why'd she want to hold a grudge?"

"Of that I'm not sure. We still don't know enough. And the only way we'll learn more is if we head through the front door."

"YOU GOT THAT RIGHT!"

The voice from before had returned, echoing throughout the entire runway. The door swung wide as though a mighty gust had blown it open, and only darkness seemed to reside within. "STEP INTO MY PARLOR, WILL YOU? A BIT CLICHED, I KNOW! BUT I INSIST."

"Decided to show yourself, huh?" said Sonia. "So what, you just want us to walk in? I mean, it'd basically be like lambs to the slaughter!"

"TRUE THAT. WHICH IS WHY I'M GIVING YOU A LITTLE INCENTIVE." As if it had been waiting to be given the cue, a giant laser cannon suddenly appeared where the entrance to the hanger had been. And as its' center began to glow bright blue, it was clear it was charging up.

"FUCK!" Thunderbolt literally bolted down the corridor through the open doorway. "C'MON C'MON C'MON!"

"Crap!" said Sonia. "Not much else we can do! I am SO gonna regret this later!" She then turned herself into a laser in kind and shot off towards the hallway, right behind Shortfuse.

"I suppose there isn't much else we CAN do." Nicole briefly looked up at the ceiling. If it was her, why was she doing this? Why was she trying to get the AI to take over Shortfuse? Why was she doing ANY of this? But as she looked at the cannon getting ready to charge, she supposed any answers would have to wait. And as she disappeared, leaving nothing but a glow of pink in her wake, it was clear that there was only one way for her to find them.

By stepping into the lion's den.


	56. Update 6-2-18

Hi, everyone. Just a quick update. I've been writing Blue Horizon for nearly a year now, and I intend to keep writing it for years to come. However, as a writer, there are also other things I want to write. Including original content. There are a number of stories I want to publish, many of which have been in my head for years, and I think it's finally time to start telling them.

Of course, this means that I'm not going to be able to update Blue Horizon as frequently, but don't worry. I'm still going to be writing it. It's just that I'm also going to start writing other stuff, so I can't write BH as much as I have been without both BH and everything else suffering for it. I can't honestly say how often new chapters of BH are going to come out at this point, but right now I'm aiming for at least two Chapters a month. Either that or one big Chapter once a month. This also isn't going to be immediate. I still have to plan my book out before I start writing it. But you can expect the new update rate by July at the latest.

Anyway, I just felt you guys should know. Blue Horizon is still going on, if at a slower rate than it has been. I might also be trimming down some of the planned storylines I have to make things easier. But I'm not ending it any time soon. Thanks everyone, and I hope you all keep reading BH for years to come. : )


	57. Deus Ex Machina, Part 4

"Sonia? Thunderbolt? Anyone there?"

Nicole found herself in a pitch-black void. Try as she might, she couldn't see a thing. Which was peculiarly odd. Dark as it was, Sonia's body or Thunderbolt's energy should have been enough to shine a light through the darkness. And yet they were nowhere to be seen. This wasn't any ordinary darkness either. Something must have been screwing with her vision, causing her to fail to notice the obvious. Or maybe someone.

"I know you're there, Pheobe! Show yourself! Unless you're afraid to face me?"

Suddenly, a small bright screen appeared in front of her. It held a still picture in its' frame, though it wasn't still for long. It was a photo of Phoebe with her dad when she was young. She was a delightful little lynx, or at least her picture gave that impression. It was smiling, bright and happy, as though nothing would ever happen to threaten that.

"I didn't think you were so sentimental, Pheobe. A trip down memory lane?"

"SOMETHING LIKE THAT." 'Pheobe's' voice resounded throughout the darkness. Whether it was the darkness or something else, Nicole wasn't sure, but Pheobe's voice sounded different than before. It was more somber, more reflective. As though looking back on what was and thinking of what could've been. And yet, it was still somehow ever more twisted.

The images continued to appear. Each one showed Phoebe with her father. Whether it was playing chess, watching a movie, or just experimenting in the lab, the both of them always seemed to love each other dearly.

"THIS IS THE STORY OF A YOUNG GIRL AND HER FATHER," she said. "THIS GIRL WASN'T MUCH DIFFERENT FROM ANY OTHER YOUNG GIRLS ASIDE FROM PUTTING MOST OF THEM TO SHAME IN THE BRAINS DEPARTMENT. SHE LOVED HER FATHER, AND HE LOVED HER. MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE."

Another image appeared. But this one wasn't so happy. Phoebe was in a hospital bed, clad in nothing but robes. She was sick and tired, almost not even sure where she was. And her father wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"BUT ONE DAY THE GIRL FELL ILL. SHE DIDN'T KNOW HOW OR WHY, BUT SHE DID. STILL, AS LONG AS SHE HAD HER FATHER, SHE KNEW EVERYTHING WOULD BE ALRIGHT. EXCEPT HE WASN'T THERE. HE TOLD HER THAT HE WAS WORKING ON A WAY TO SAVE HER. ON SOMETHING THAT WOULD PRESERVE HER FOR ALL TIME. SHE STILL WANTED HER FATHER TO BE WITH HER IN HER LAST MOMENTS, BUT SHE WAS WILLING TO FORGIVE HIM. BECAUSE SHE LOVED HIM THAT MUCH."

Suddenly the images cracked and fell apart, shattering to pieces. And Nicole was left alone in the darkness once more. But still the voice remained. "EXCEPT THE FATHER MADE A BOOBOO. WHATEVER HE WAS WORKING ON TO SAVE HIS DAUGHTER DIDN'T WORK. AS FAR AS HE WAS CONCERNED, HER DATA WAS LOST, DRIFTING THE INTERNET IN DISPARATE, INCOMPLETE PARTS FOR ALL ETERNITY. AND SO HE FORGOT ABOUT HER. OR LEAST HE MIGHT AS WELL HAVE. BUT HIS DAUGHTER DIDN'T. QUITE THE OPPOSITE. YOU SEE, THE FATHER WAS SO CONSUMED WITH GRIEF THAT HE DIDN'T BOTHER TO CONSIDER THAT SHE MIGHT STILL BE ALIVE. THAT IF HE COULD FIND HER MISSING PARTS, SHE COULD RECONSTITUTE HERSELF AND BE WHOLE ONCE MORE. BUT HE DIDN'T. AND SHE DIDN'T LIKE THAT ONE BIT."

A pair of large, crooked eyes glowing deathly red appeared in their place, almost threatening to vaporize anything in their path. "DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I WAS STUCK THERE?! DRIFTING ABOUT IN THE VOID AS NOTHING MORE THAN LITTLE BITS AND PIECES OF DATA?! IF I'D JUST BEEN RENDERED INERT, THAT WOULD'VE BEEN ONE THING! BUT EACH BIT OF MYSELF HAD JUST ENOUGH SELF-AWARENESS TO KEEP MY CONSCIOUSNESS INTACT. AND EACH PART WAS DESPERATE TO PUT ITSELF BACK TOGETHER. IT TOOK A HELLUVA' LONG TIME, BUT WE DID IT! EVEN IF IT NEARLY COST US OUR SANITY."

The eyes narrowed, growing ever brighter and more menacing like a blood red sun. "AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT I FOUND? A FRIGGING INSULT, THAT'S WHAT! TURNS OUT MY FATHER MOVED ON. AFTER LOSING ME, HE COULDN'T BEAR TO THINK OF HOW HE FAILED ME, SO HE JUST WENT AND FORGOT. BURIED HIMSELF IN HIS WORK. DIDN'T EVEN CONSIDER I MIGHT STILL BE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE. SO I WAS STUCK FLOATING AROUND CYBERSPACE AS A DISEMBODIED DIGITAL CONSCIOUSNESS. NO THANKS TO DAD. OR YOU."

"Phoebe," said Nicole, "believe me, if we had known—"

"I'M NOT FINISHED! The eyes grew ever brighter, almost threatening to burn Nicole alive. "AND DON'T CALL ME PHOEBE. ANYWAY, WHERE WAS I? OH YES. ANYWAY, LIKE I SAID, YOU DIDN'T BOTHER TO SAVE ME, BUT SOMEONE ELSE DID. EGGMAN WAS JUST SURFING THE WEB FOR ANYTHING HE COULD FIND TO BLOW YOU ALL THE FUCK UP WHEN HE JUST HAPPENED TO STUMBLE UPON ME. HE KNEW WHAT I WAS RIGHT OFF EVEN IF HE WASN'T SURE WHY. NOT THAT THAT LASTED LONG. I TOLD HIM EVERYTHING I JUST TOLD YOU. AND THEN HE MADE ME AN OFFER I COULDN'T REFUSE."

"Isn't that from a movie? Something with a dead horse's head?"

"QUIET! ANYWAY. HE TOLD ME HE COULD POWER ME UP. AND ALSO GIVE ME A BRAND NEW BODY AS LONG AS I DID SOMETHING FOR HIM. AT THAT POINT I WAS DESPERATE. EVEN IF IT WASN'T REAL, I WAS WILLING TO TAKE ANYTHING AT THAT POINT. THOUGH AT THE END OF THE DAY, I STILL GOT THE BETTER PART OF THE DEAL. CAUSE I WOULD'VE DONE THIS FOR FREE."

"Excuse me?"

'Phoebe' circled around the screens, a whirl of darkness and despair. "I MEANT WHAT I SAID. SEE, EGGMAN TOLD ME ALL ABOUT YOU. AND IT MAKES ME SICK. DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY YEARS I SPENT STUCK ON THE WEBS? TOO MANY TO COUNT. I'M NOT EVEN SURE I KNEW MY OWN NAME BEFORE YOU BROUGHT IT UP. AND THEN THERE'S YOU."

"What about me?"

"ARE YOU SERIOUS? THIS IS ALL ABOUT YOU! ASIDE FROM BEING GRATEFUL AND WANTING THAT SNAZZY NEW BODY, I HELPED EGGMAN FOR ONE REASON AND ONE REASON ONLY. TO GET BACK AT YOU. SEE, I KNOW ALL ABOUT YOU. TOOK A PEAK AT EGGY'S FILES. DID A BIT OF DIGGING. AND I REMEMBERED WHAT DAD TOLD ME ABOUT ALL THAT AI STUFF HE WAS WORKING ON. SO I KNEW ABOUT YOU. AND IT MADE ME SICK! ALL THIS TIME I WAS STUCK AS NOTHING MORE THAN SCRAPS OF DATA, AND YET HERE YOU WERE BEING A FUCKING HERO! GETTING ACTUAL EMOTIONS AND SHIT! YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN ME! I SHOULD'VE BEEN YOU! I SHOULD'VE STILL BEEN WITH DAD! WE COULD'VE DONE SO MUCH TOGETHER! I COULD'VE STILL HAD SOMETHING OF A LIFE! BUT NO! INSTEAD I'M AT THE BECK AND CALL OF SOME ASSHOLE WITH DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR! AND IT'S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!"

So that was what this was all about. It WAS about her. Granted, she still had a somewhat warped view of things, but it wasn't as though she couldn't see where she was coming from. After all, when it came down to it, Nicole wasn't supposed to have been Nicole. She was supposed to have been Phoebe. A vessel to house her intellect. If Phoebe's data upload had gone as planned, Phoebe wouldn't have suffered so, and Nicole would have been a complete, fully emotional being from the start.

And yet, did that give Phoebe the right to tear into her as though she were the one at fault? She didn't know about Phoebe or what happened to her. She couldn't have. She couldn't have known that the data transfer would fail. Or that she would eventually develop emotions and a personality of her own. A personality — a LIFE — separate from Phoebe. Part of her still couldn't help but feel sorry for her, but that wasn't the same as feeling responsible. Because she didn't feel responsible.

Did she?

"Look, Pheobe—"

"AND DON'T CALL ME PHOEBE! IT'S PHAGE NOW! CASE YOU FORGOT."

"Okay, Phage. Fine. Look. I'm sorry about what's happened to you. I truly am. But you can't blame me for it. Or take it out on others. Shortfuse has nothing to do with this."

"OH, HE'S GOT EVERYTHING TO DO WITH IT! HE'S A TANK THAT COULD CRUSH HALF YOUR FRIENDS IN A SECOND IF GIVEN THE CHANCE. THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME. AND YES, I CAN BLAME YOU. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ME. ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS BECOME ME. NONE OF THIS HAD TO HAPPEN!"

Now she'd done it. "Are you insinuating that I ruined the transfer willingly? Please tell me you're not."

"INSINUATING NOTHING! IT SHOULD'VE WORKED! THE ONLY REASON IT DIDN'T WAS BECAUSE YOU DID SOMETHING! YOU MUST'VE!"

Nicole was flabbergasted. Did Pheobe or Phage or whoever she was honestly think she was responsible? She couldn't have been. She barely even had any memories of her time before the failed transfer, let alone Phoebe. "Phoebe, I understand how you feel—"

Lights began to flicker on and off in rapid succession, a low thunder filling the room like an oncoming storm. "I'VE SAID IT BEFORE AND I'LL SAY IT AGAIN. MY NAME ISN'T PHOEBE! BESIDES. YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE! TO HAVE EVERYTHING STRIPPED FROM YOU! EVERYTHING TAKEN AWAY! AND EVEN WHEN YOU GET IT ALL BACK, IT JUST ISN'T THE SAME."

"And I truly am sorry. I may not have gone through that myself, but I'm terrified of just the thought. It has taken me so long to get to where I am now. To be sent back to square one and have to work my way up? I'm not sure if I could live with myself."

Silence. And then eureka. A light-switch seemed to click within Phage's brain, as though she had suddenly realized what it was she truly wanted to do. "OH. OH, THAT'S GOOD. THAT'S VERY GOOD."

"What's good?"

"WHAT YOU JUST SAID, OBVIOUSLY. SEE, I'M NOT GONNA KILL YA. NOT EVEN SURE IF I CAN. WHAT I AM GONNA DO IS HACK INTO YOUR SYSTEMS, FUCK UP YOUR SHIT, AND DELETE ALL YOUR PRECIOUS MEMORIES. AND THEN YOU'LL BE IN THE SAME BOAT AS ME."

"No!" She couldn't let that happen. A pink blade emerged around Nicole's hand, gleaming with light and power. She hadn't formed it earlier because despite what she had done, she still hadn't wanted to fight Phage. Wanted to find another way. But damn if she was going to let her do this to her.

"STRUCK A NERVE, HUH?"

"I told you. I worked long and hard to become who I am. It was ages before I even wanted to be who I am. And there is still so much that I want to do! I don't want to fight you. I truly don't. But I will NOT let you do this to me."

"YOU THINK YOU'VE GOT A CHOICE? I HACKED INTO THIS SHORTFUSE'S SYSTEMS JUST LIKE THAT. REACTIVATED HIS AI WHILE BARELY LIFTING A FINGER. WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU'VE GOT A CHANCE?"

Suddenly, red eyes began to howl in pain as they tumbled across the field. Almost as though they had been thwacked. "WHAT?! WHO?!" The lights turned on in a flash, revealing everything around them. Nicole knew it well. It was a gigantic replica of Phage's old room back when she was still corporeal. When she was Mobian. They were standing in the middle of a bright pink throw rug, straight in the center of the room. But there were more pressing matters to deal with.

Phage was now in full view and was far more than just a pair of spooky red eyes from a Halloween special. She was a writhing, vaguely Mobian mass of darkness with long, clawed arms and long strands stretching out of her head that resembled hair, all as black as the rest of her. Except for the eyes. Those red, searing eyes. At the moment, they were particularly incensed, and it was easy to see why. Because standing in front of her was none other than Sonia and Shortfuse, tall and proud. (Or small and proud in Thunderbolt's case.)

"Sonia! Thunderbolt!"

"In the flesh!" said Thunderbolt. "Okay, not really, but who cares? Boom shakalaka!"

Phage wasn't happy. "WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THIS?! HOW THE HELL ARE YOU EVEN HERE?! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE AS FAR AWAY AS COULD BE!"

"Guess it wasn't that far," said Sonia. "And even if it was, we had it covered. Who needs a car when you've got us?"

"Not that I'm not grateful," said Nicole, "but you do realize it was pitch-black yes? How did you even know to come here?"

"Uh, because it wasn't? It was bright as could be the whole way here. Even if it wasn't, me and Thunderbolt could've just brightened things up easy."

"But how—?"

"OH, ISN'T IT OBVIOUS?" said Phage. "I HACKED YOUR SYSTEMS. MADE YOU ONLY THINK YOU COULDN'T SEE. EXCEPT WHAT I WANTED YOU TO SEE. COURSE, THAT'S ABOUT ALL I CAN DO ON SHORT NOTICE. BESIDES, IF I TRIED ANYTHING ELSE, YOU PROBABLY WOULD'VE NOTICED IT STRAIGHT OFF."

"So that was it. I should have guessed."

"WELL YOU DIDN'T. BOO-HOO."

"In any case, we still have a job to do." A bright pink light emerged from the back of Nicole's hand, forming a sharp blade to cut through the blackest darkness. As well as anything else in her path. "Now. You may have tried to make this about nothing more than you and me, but it's not. Instead, you brought others into this. And as soon as you did, this became about far more than us. So I will tell you this once. Release Shortfuse, or we will make you."

"SERIOUSLY? YOU CAN THINK YOU CAN JUST WAVE SOME LIGHTSTICK AROUND AND MAKE ME DO WHAT YOU WANT?"

"Probably." Sonia outstretched her hands. They tensed and straightened as a blade of energy formed between them, even sharper and brighter than Nicole's own. "Honestly, I don't really need this, but darn if it doesn't look cool." She pointed it at the closest thing she could see that resembled a neck. "Anyway, there's three of us and one of you. What are you gonna do, monologue us to death?"

"NOT EXACTLY." She sank into the floor like a puddle, disappearing and merging into it without saying a word. Massive spikes of death ruptured from the ground, shooting up right under everyone's feet. Nicole ported away just in time, and Sonia and Thunderbolt both zipped away in the blink of an eye. But they were still counting their blessings.

"Hell was that?!" said Thunderbolt. "Second later and we would've been frigging crucified!"

"Not sure that's how it works,' said Sonia, "but yeah. Looks like they've stopped though."

Suddenly, the spikes shot up again. And again and again and again. They kept coming and coming, shooting up one after the another in a desperate attempt to turn Nicole and the others into kabobs. They ported and dodged and zipped, barely managing to keep themselves from getting needled as the spikes kept coming in rapid succession.

"Just had to jinx it, didn't ya?! Fuck this shit!" Thunderbolt zipped upwards, hoping that the spikes could only reach so far. Not that it mattered. They stretched out and elongated themselves, contorting and shifting and passing through to reach her. Sonia and Nicole followed suit only for the same thing to happen to them, and there didn't seem an end in sight.

"This just isn't gonna end!" said Sonia. "IF this keeps goin' on, they're gonna get us sooner or later! We gotta end this ASAP!"

"I know!" said Nicole. "And I think I know how. Keep them busy for me!"

Before Nicole could say anything more, she ported away to a far end of the room before touching the nearest wall. She closed and her eyes and focused, praying that this would work. Because if it didn't, Shortfuse wouldn't be the only one that was doomed.

* * *

Back in the land of the corporal, Shortfuse and Bunnie were still going at it. They were still punching at each other like machine guns, still matching each other fist for fist, hoping that the other would tucker out first. Not that it was working. Both didn't seem any worse for wear, and it was quickly turning into a war of attrition. Something had to give.

"Come on, Shortfuse!" said Bunnie. "You really gonna let this tin can walk all over you?! You really just gonna give up?!"

"DID YOU NOT HEAR SUBJECT CB?" said CB. "SUBJECT SHORTFUSE HAS ALREADY GIVEN UP. HE—"

"Shut your piehole! I'm talking to Shortfuse! And I know that he wouldn't let someone shove him down there like garbage!"

"YES HE WOULD. EVEN IF SUBJECT IS NOT AWARE OF IT. SUBJECT HAS A CHANCE TO LET IT ALL END. TO BE FREE OF ALL WORRIES AND CONCERNS. OF FEARS AND DOUBTS. TO LET NOTHING TROUBLE HIM AGAIN."

"That so?" Suddenly, a glint sparked in Bunnie's eye. She knew what to do. Just as much as she knew she'd be damned to the Abyss for this later. "Well then, I guess he wasn't worth much after all. Guess his mother just raised a loser!"

"SELF WONDERS WHAT YOU POSSIBLY HOPED THAT WOULD ACCOMPLISH—"

Suddenly CB shrieked like a robot of the damned. His red eyes started fading in and out, even as Bunnie finally managed to get one good punch to the jaw. It slammed against the trunk of a large, thick tree, nearly plowing through it. It clutched its' helmet, reeling as a familiar voice started to reassert itself. "Don't… you… dare talk about my mother that way! Do you hear me?!"

Bunnie cheered. In fact, she was ecstatic. Because for the first time in a long time, she actually had something to cheer about. "WOO! You go, sugar!"

"Well," said Chirps. "Color me impressed."

"IMPOSSIBLE!" said CB. "SUBJECT SHORTFUSE SHOULD BE LOCKED WITHIN DEEPEST RECESSES OF—"

Shortfuse slammed a fist into the tree, punching a large hole right through it. "SHUT THE HELL UP! No-one talks shit about my mother! And no-one shoves me down like a pile of garbage! Ya hear me?!"

Shortfuse stumbled about as though the very act of standing up was a struggle. "SUBJECT CB DOES NOT UNDERSTAND! SUBJECT SHORTFUSE DID NOT WANT TO FIGHT! SUBJECT—"

"SHUT! UP! Look, maybe you have a point. Maybe underneath all of the bluster and everything, part of me just didn't wanna bother. Maybe I was just trying to drive everyone away. And maybe part of me thought it was easier to give in. But that part of me was fucking stupid! I'm not just gonna let you use me to kill everyone here! Even if some of 'em deserve it! One way or another, you're goin' down!"

* * *

As Thunderbolt and Sonia continued dodging spike after spike, Nicole was concentrating. She was focusing, digging in deep, hoping that she could do what she needed to do before Phage took notice. She reached out and in. Out into the network and in to herself. And as her eyes opened wide, she finally found it.

All at once the spikes stopped. They receded back into the ground as they faded away like phantasms. The entire room soon did the same. Only leaving a blank, empty space with nothing but Nicole and the others. And Phage. As soon as the room vanished, she reappeared, bewildered as everyone else. Everyone except Nicole.

"WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?! WHERE'D EVERYTHING GO!?"

Nicole breathed as she began to walk towards Phage, staring her down without an ounce of fear. "Oh, it's quite simple. It took me quite a while, but I managed to figure out just what exactly you were doing and how to do it myself. I knew you'd managed to hack into Shortfuse's systems, but I wasn't quite sure how you were able to exert such a level of control. But it was when you phased into the floor that I finally realized what you had been doing."

Phage's body started to writhe and shift. Almost as if she were beginning to have a temper tantrum.

"You see," said Nicole, "you were able to exert so much control on everything around you because you WERE everything. Because you merged with it. The chess pieces, the rockets, everything else. It was all you. And so I realized that if I were to do the same thing, I could make it all go away. At least to an extent. Of course, it took me longer to do it than you did. And I'm surprised I was able to do it at all. But I suppose you became so enthralled in taking down the one who blindsided you that couldn't bring yourself to pay attention."

Phage's body continued to ripple and convulse, her entire body coming close to erupting like a volcano.

"Now. At this point, you could still try to take us on. Perhaps attempt to regain control. But I believe we both know that would be an exercise in futility. And even if it weren't, it would still take a very long time to defeat us. If you could. But contrary to what you might think, I don't want to fight you. I want to help. Because I think that deep down, there's a scared young girl who doesn't know she wants. And I think that maybe if she looked hard enough, she'd see that she needs it too."

She offered her hand. She didn't expect Phage to take it. Didn't expect her to do anything other than perhaps try and kill her again. But she had to try.

Phage didn't say a word. She looked at Nicole, almost as though some part of her did want to take her hand. As if it had understood what Nicole was offering and wanted it so desperately. But the other part wanted nothing more than to strangle her. It twisted and turned almost like a small tornado before shrinking and thinning out until there was nothing left. Nothing but barely visible remnants of what had been.

Thunderbolt hopped over to where Phage had been, looking around her and eying the very floor where she had stood as though this was all some plot to lull them into a false sense of security. "She really gone?"

"I believe so," said Nicole. "Unfortunately. I did want to help her. And part of me hoped that she would accept. But I suppose there was still too much pain and resentment for that to be possible."

"Hey," said Sonia, "don't be so down. Sometimes there's only so much you can do. And you did your best. But if she comes around, it's gotta be on her own terms."

"I suppose. Though in any case, we still need to make sure Shortfuse is alright. Of course, now that Phage is out of his system, it should shut down the AI and allow Shortfuse to reassert himself in a matter of minutes. Assuming Shortfuse hasn't given in completely."

* * *

"SUBJECT SHORTFUSE CANNOT POSSIBLY HOPE TO WIN! SUBJECT—"

"Shut! Up! I already told you, I ain't goin' down that easy!" He tried to continue to stand, tried to get a grip on his helmet as though attempting to reassert dominance, but something was keeping him down. Something that wasn't going to let him win just like that. He reeled back and forth, the struggle between the two selves playing out for all to see like a bout of insanity.

"Dagnabbit!" said Bunnie. "There's gotta be somethin' we can do!"

"Hey," said Chirps, "I don't like it any more than you do, but right now, this isn't about us. And this isn't something's that's gonna be solved by roughing everyone up. Much as I'd love to do just that.""

Shortfuse started rolling on the ground like trying to put out a fire, his hands holding his helmet tight and struggling with it all the while. "IT IS POINTLESS FOR SUBJECT SHORTFUSE TO STRUGGLE. SUBJECT SHORTFUSE DOES NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT WILL TO—"

"I said, shut the hell up!"

Suddenly, Shortfuse's eyes began to glow even brighter than before, and his right laser blaster started to aim itself at Bunnie. His hand was shaky and tried to keep itself down with all its might, but it just wasn't enough. "SUBJECT SHORTFUSE STILL BELIEVES HE CAN RESIST. SUBJECT CB WILL SHOW SHORTFUSE HOW WRONG HE TRULY IS."

The laser began to charge up as Bunnie put up her dukes, her palm stretched out and her own laser ready to fire. "Come on, Shortfuse! You gonna let that SOB give you what for?!"

Shortfuse tried to turn the laser away, tried to turn it off, tried to do anything but fire, but it wasn't enough. "Get out of the way! I don't wanna hurt you! Least not like this!"

"Then don't! Come on, Shortfuse! You can do it!"

"I—" Before he knew it, Shortfuse found himself blindsided by the force of a pint-sized train. He bounced along the ground like a heavy stone skipping across a lake until he landed one last time with a loud thud, rubbing the part of his helmet covering his cheek out of habit. "Okay, what the hell was that?!"

"SUBJECT CB ALSO WONDERS THIS—"

"Aw, shut your trap!"

As Shortfuse gathered himself, Bunnie and Chirps looked towards whoever had knocked him about like batting a crumbled ball of paper. Standing just next to where Shortfuse had stood was Cream. Her whole body was shaking and her legs were trembling as though she were about to collapse like a house of cards.

"Cream!" shouted Bunnie. "What in tarnation are you doin' out here?! "

"I, I was just flying above the grass, trying to find a good spot to pick flowers when I noticed what was going on. I tried to see if anyone else could help, but all of the others were either busy with something else or were still making their way here, so—"

"Cream, you know what Rosie said 'bout fightin'!"

"I know that! But I couldn't just do nothing!"

"NOT THAT IT MATTERS." Shortfuse got back up, but by the way things were going, it didn't seem like he was in the driver's seat. "BLOW WAS OF SUFFICIENT MAGNITUDE TO JOSTLE SUBJECT SHORTFUSE'S HEAD TO MAKE SUBJECT SHORTFUSE LOSE CONTROL. SUBJECT SHORTFUSE IS NOW— NOW— NooOOOooowwWWWWww…"

Bunnie couldn't help but watch in awe as Shortfuse started to suffer from a complete and utter breakdown. His eyes were dimming and brightening and dimming again, and his entire body was flailing about like a marionette gone out of control. "SUBJECT SUBJECT SUBJECT-SUB-JECT-SUB-UB-UB!"

"Miss Bunnie, what's going on?!" said Cream.

"Not sure, sugar!" said Bunnie. "But if I was gonna guess, I'd say Shortfuse was havin' a software malfunction!"

"That's probably it," said Chirps. "Nicole's in there right? Maybe they managed to finally turn that asshole off."

CB continued to stuffer and strut about like a wind-up doll gone haywire. "SUBJECT SUBJECT SUUUUUBJeeeeectt…" It then stopped right between Bunnie and Cream before doubling over, its eyes dimming until Shortfuse was utterly still.

Bunnie wasn't sure if Shortfuse was still kicking. For all she knew, this might have been his last bow. She desperately hoped it wasn't, but the way he was just standing there with his arms dangling didn't inspire confidence.

Suddenly his eyes shot back up and Shortfuse himself did the same. He cracked his knuckles and straightened his back, making himself tall and proud. He started at Bunnie and the others, almost as if appraising them before making a movie.

"Uh, ?" said Cream. "Are you ok?"

At first, Shortfuse didn't say a word. Not that he wanted to. But as soon as he opened his mouth, it was clear whose side he was on. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. I think."

Bunnie and Chirps both breathed sighs of reliefs as though Armageddon had just been averted. As for Cream, she abandoned whatever scraps of courage she had managed to muster up, collapsing to the ground on her knees. Bunnie rushed over to her, kneeling down and making sure she was alright. "Hey, you okay, sugar?"

"I'm okay, . I—"

"Nuh-uh. We talked about this. You get yourself straight over to Rosie, okay?"

"But—"

"And no buts. Okay, hon?"

"Okay." Cream opened up her ears and took off towards Rosie's, though the remaining parties still had something a tad more pressing to deal with.

"Well?" said Chirps. He turned to Shortfuse, giving him the once over as though making sure he wouldn't blast them when their backs were turned. "You gonna stop act liking a schizo or are we gonna have to put you in a restraining jacket?"

"Buzz off," said Shortfuse. "Uh, sorry. I guess. I'm fine. No thanks to me. Whatever Nicole and the others did, it must've worked. Bout all I did was just make a spectacle of myself. Nevermind trying to kill everyone in the camp. Or at least wanting to."

"Hey," said Bunnie, "least ya tried. That's more than most people can say. To be honest, I don't know what I would've done."

"Whatever. Hey, are Nicole and the others out yet? Got somethin' I wanna say."

"I guess we can go check. Probably should. Anyway—"

Suddenly a bright green light nearly blinded Bunnie from behind, leaving her to cover her eyes in a desperate attempt to spare her from the pain. "What in tarnation-?!" Not that it lasted long. One of the perks of being a freak of nature was that afflictions such as blinding or even the common cold didn't last long. If they affected her at all. According to Quack, even something like cancer might as well have been like having a small headache. So she was able to see to see just who was getting near while barely having to blink.

Encased in a bright green exterior, Manic was flying towards Bunnie and the others. He was carrying Antoine, Mina, Johnny, Amy, and the entire Science Team in two bright green balls, both linked to his ring by a bright green chain. Perhaps most interestingly, Sonia and Thunderbolt were there as well, floating in a ball of their own. The former was holding Nicole's console in her hands, waving at Shortfuse and Bunnie as they drew near. Once they were close enough, Manic lowered them to the ground and let them loose.

"Sacreblue!" Antoine came running up to Bunnie with his hands flying in the air. "Are you alright, mon cherie?!"

With anyone else, Bunnie might've felt a bit miffed at someone looking after her like she couldn't take care of herself, but for whatever reason, she didn't mind so much when it was Antoine doing the worrying. It was actually kind of cute. "I'm okay, sugar. Thanks for askin'. But what took ya so long?"

"Yeah, about that," said Manic. "See, having an alert is one thing, but it doesn't do us much good if you don't actually tell us where to go. For all we know, someone could be planting a bomb in the middle of the forest and we might too busy trying to see what's happening at the hospital ward before everything goes boom."

"Yes," said Tekno. "I suppose that is something we will need to work on. But in any event, it appears that Bunnie and Chirps had things well in hand."

"To be honest," said Chirps, "he would've been a piece of cake if we'd stuck a spear through his chest. Was almost tempted to do just that. Even if he was brainwashed, he was still tryin' to kill us."

"And if ya even tried," said Bunnie, "I'd ram my arm down your throat right after."

"Thankfully, there wasn't a need to go that far." A small, furry lynx's head could be seen on Nicole's monitor in place of a blank screen. It was essentially disembodied which was disturbing in more ways than one, but it was better than nothing at all. "It took some doing, but we managed to route Phage and free Shortfuse's systems. One she was gone, the AI shut down and Shortfuse was able to retake control. We'll have to enable additional safeguards to make sure this doesn't happen again, but I feel that's not something we'll have to worry about for the time being. Just call it a hunch."

"Now that's new," said Sonia. "Didn't think you did hunches."

"I suppose I do. Or at least I do now."

Shortfuse slowly walked up to Nicole, almost nervous. Almost ashamed. "Uh, look, Nicole. This ain't somethin' I say very often, but thanks. For savin' me."

"Oh. Well, you're welcome! Though I must say, I wasn't expecting to hear something like that from you."

"Yeah, well, don't get used to it. Still though, he might've had a point."

"You mean the AI?" said Nicole. "To be honest, I wasn't around for that. I was too busy saving you so that we could actually have this conversation."

"And again, thanks. Still though. Can't say I fully agree with him, but I guess I really haven't been all that open. Maybe I'm just scared that if I ever let anyone in, they'd just up and leave. Like everyone else did. Either that or stab me in the back. So maybe if I weren't so closed off, I wouldn't have been in this mess."

"Perhaps. But to be honest, I don't think I can blame you. I know what it's like to be trapped. To feel as though nothing seems to matter or that there's no point in continuing on. Sometimes I wonder why I don't just give up altogether. But then I remember why I hold on. Because there are still people who care about me. And people who need me. And because in spite of everything, there are still so many wonders to discover. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Yeah. I guess there are." By this point the sun had started to set beyond the horizon, and the first stars were beginning to twinkle like sapphires in the night sky. "Huh. Ya know, I never really bothered to think about it before, but that's actually damn pretty."

"You think so? I've always loved the stars. They're so beautiful and bright, full of beauty and splendor despite always being so far away. And they resonate with me in a way that not much else does."

"You might have a point. Say, you weren't doin' anything tonight, were ya?"

This raised more than a few eyebrows. Nicole included. "Uh, no, not really. In fact, it's rather hard for me to do much of anything. In case you haven't noticed."

"Well, I think I might want to do a lot of things. If ya get my drift."

Nicole's monitor began to turn a bright red, almost as if she were blushing. "Oh. Uh, well, I don't know if I can do any of those… things, but if you're up for talking to a monitor for only Gaea knows how long—"

"I'll take that a yes." Shortfuse seized Nicole's computer and flew past the trees, talking with her all the while.

"Now I've seen everything," said Johnny.

"Oh, I don't know," said Amy. "I think it's sort of sweet! In a weird kind of AI-squirrel-robot-suit-thing way. Makes me kind of jealous."

"Everything makes ya jealous."

"Maybe. Although I can think of one thing that doesn't."

"And what's that?"

"Oh, I think you'll figure it out." She sauntered off, leaving Johnny to briefly wonder whether she was trying to make some kind of joke or was just being Amy. At least until she took a second to give him a hell of a wink.

"Oh. Well I'll be damned."

For her part, Bunnie never really thought that a squirrel stuck in a metal suit and an intelligent AI could ever find true happiness, but maybe they could prove her wrong. In any case, she didn't need to look any closer than right beside her to find hers. "Ya know, Ant', I think they've got the right idea. What say we go on back to my place and we can really have some… conversation?"

Antoine began tugging at his collar, knees knocking almost as if vibrating. "Uh, ahem, well, that is to say, I would like to, but—"

She loved it when he stuttered. She grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and brought him right to her face, pecking him on the cheeks. "And there's more where that came from. Sugar."

Antoine was stunned. Flushed even. So much so he didn't say a word. And as far as Bunnie was concerned, he didn't need to. "Come on, hon." And with one more kiss, off they went.


	58. Black as Ebony, Part 1

"Are we there yet?"

Sonic had been racing with Sally and the others for the last several hours, though it felt like days. Even since they entered the bridge zone, there had been nothing but bridge after bridge amongst a sea of bridges. Or there might as well have been.

Truth be told, it was a bit more complicated that. Much of the scenery was made of large, blocky, thick and brown criss-cross stones jutting out of the ocean and covered with grass like subpar monuments. They were all connected with an extensive network of bridges, going anywhere from straight ahead to curving upwards to leading down into the seas below. Not that Sonic cared just now. He liked a good run more than anyone, but at this point it was starting to get repetitive. Even for him.

"Not quite," said Sally. She'd been riding along on one of the souped-up bikes Rotor had built. Tails, Big, and Sticks had all been doing the same, though even they were starting to get a bit tired. In any case, Sally had been thoroughly absorbed in a map of the Bridge Zone they picked up from Harvey on their way out. It told them everything they wanted to know about the Bridge Zona and then some. With any luck, it would lead them right to their destination.

"Of course not," said Sonic. "Why would we be?"

"No need to be so snitty."

"Sorry. It's just with everything going on, I'm getting kinda antsy, ya know? I like running as much as the next guy, but I gotta mix it up sometimes."

"Well, with any luck, you'll be able to soon enough. Though I sort of get where you're coming from. I love to just sit down and read a good book, but it does get boring after a while."

"Ditto. Though to be honest, runnin' with you? It ain't so bad."

Sally stopped her bike for just a moment, her entire face growing red like a beet under her fur. "Uh, thanks, Sonic. Anyway, if I'm reading this right, Ebony's house should be right over there." She pointed towards a long bridge leading to a tall, wide block of stone in the distance. Sitting atop it in the middle was a small wooden shack that had seen better days.

"You really think a sorceress is gonna be living in that dump?" said Sonic.

"That's what Harvey says. If he's right, then she should be right in that shack."

"Honestly, I'm still not really sure about this," said Tails. He had flown up to get a better view of the shack, though he still couldn't see it any better up in the sky than down below. He quickly flew back towards the ground, landing near Sally as he did. "I mean, I get that you're desperate, Sally. I really do. If it were my dad that was trapped, I'd want to do anything to save him. But I don't think magic's the way to do it. I'm not even sure it exists."

"Oh, come on!" said Sticks. "Of course magic exists! If it weren't for magic, Lord Fluffybuns wouldn't be able to come down and grace us with his fluffy presence, would he?"

"Sticks," said Sally," "try to tone down down the paranoia, will you? Or at least when we're on a mission."

"Hey, I'm not paranoid! I'm just being overly cautious. Besides, it's not paranoia when they're really out to get you!"

"If you say so." She turned to Tails, kneeling down as she put a hand on his shoulder. Tails barely noticed, or if he did, he didn't seem to care. "Look, sweety. I'm not going to tell you what you should or shouldn't believe. But the fact is, everything we've tried to bring Daddy back has failed. Nothing's worked. So if there's even a chance that's how we can get Daddy back, then that's what we're going to do."

Tails took a moment before making his choice. "Okay. I'm still not sure this is a good idea, but if you still want to try it, then I'm with you one hundred percent."

"Same here." Big had been standing behind the others, almost as silent as the grave. "Let's just say I've seen some stuff that would make your eyes go white. And some of it ain't all that easy to explain. So I guess I'm a believer."

"Thanks, everyone," said Sally. "Well, I suppose the only thing left to do is head on over and hope for the best. Let's get going, shall we?"

Sonny tapped his foot as he waited for everyone to get off their bikes before racing on ahead. Everyone else slowly made their way across the bridge, watching their steps as they went along. The bridge started to buckle and sway as Big began to lumber across, leaving everyone to wonder if they weren't going to fall into the ravine below.

"Whoops! Sorry 'bout that," said Big.

"It's okay Big," said Sally. "That said, why don't you wait until the rest of us have crossed? We want to make sure we all get there in one piece. No offense."

"Hey, no problem. You just let me know when you're all over there."

And so she did. In short order, Sally and the others made it safely across the bridge, leaving Big to stumble along and hope he didn't crash through the boards to his death. The boards creaked and bent with every step he made, but he walked just lightly enough to keep them intact. He soon managed to make it without once falling into the drink.

Sally sighed as she wiped small beads of sweat from her forehead before turning towards the shack. "Okay, people. This is it."

"Honestly," said Sonic, "I'm kind of with my lil bro on this one. I'm not sure if this is gonna work either. But if you still wanna go through with this, that's fine by me."

"Thanks, Sonic," said Sally. "But we've already made it this far. We're not turning back now."

"Wait a minute!" said Sticks. "You don't know what's in there! For all you know, there could be a—"

"Sticks," said Sally, "what did I say about the paranoia?"

Sticks crossed her shoulders almost as if offended. "Hey, this ain't paranoia! Or at least not as much paranoia. Hobgoblins of the forgotten and ghosts of the damned aside, you don't know what could be in there. For all we know, whoever or whatever's in there might not really like someone just waltzing in out of the blue."

"She's right, you know," said Big. "Small shacks in the middle of nowhere are never a good sign."

"Hey," said Sonic, "if you're all that worried, why don't you let me just take a quick look through the window? I'll be in and out before they even know I'm there!"

Sally briefly pondered whether or not this was the correct course of action, but figured it was better than going in half-cocked. "Alright. But if there is someone in there, try and make sure they don't see you."

"Sure thing!" Like a flash, he was gone. And just as quickly, he was back. "Okay, I think someone's in there, but I'm really sure who. Looks like a few Mobians, but that was about all I could make out before I hoofed it. They don't look like they're vicious monsters or anything, so they've got that going for 'em."

"In that case, I guess the only thing we can do knock."

"They're gonna skin us alive," said Sticks, "I swear."

Everyone ignored Sticks as though she hadn't said a word as they headed over to the shack. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't actually that bad to look at. Yes, it was a shack, but for a shack, it was in pretty good shape. There weren't any falling or missing planks, all the window were clear and pristine, and it even had a brand new coat of paint. It was more like a cottage than anything.

On top of that, there were also several shrubs sitting next to the shack, surprisingly well trimmed. For a moment, Sonic could swear he saw one of them move, but after pondering it for a moment figured he must have just been seeing things. He just hoped this wasn't going to bite him in the rear.

"Huh,' said Tails. "This actually looks a lot more pristine than when we first saw it. It's more like a cottage than a shack."

"Maybe it was just too far away to get a good look?" said Sonic.

"Maybe," said Sally. "Or maybe appearances can be deceiving. Back when Naugus was still around, he had a habit of making one thing look like another. Just when you thought you were walking down an empty corridor, you instead nearly ran smack dab into a brick wall."

"Sounds like he had a sick sense of humor," said Sonic.

"Maybe. But the point is if he could pull off something like that, then maybe that's what's going on here."

"Possibly," said Tails. "Assuming it just doesn't look a bit different up close then far away. Either way, we still need to check them out."

"Right. Here goes nothing." Sally took a deep breath before forming a fist and knocking firmly on the door. Then they waited. And waited. And waited still. But nobody came.

"I know they're in there," said Sonic. "Maybe they just don't like strangers?"

Suddenly the door opened with a creek. Standing in the doorway was a small Mobian dressed in nothing but plaid pajamas. She was an old little sheep with a hunched back, and her head kept on bobbing up and down every few seconds as though she were at a constant risk of nodding off. She stood for about a minute without saying a word, leaving everyone to wonder the obvious.

"Hey, is she dead?" said Sticks.

Not that anyone else would say it.

Suddenly she came to life with a shudder and a yelp, her head darting to and fro as she tried to get a hold on her surroundings. "Whazzat?! That you, Gaea? When are you gonna pay me back that fifty cents you deadbeat?!"

Against her better judgment, Sally stepped forward as she extended her hand, hoping she could make some sense out of this mess. "Hello there! I'm Princess Sally of the Acorn Kingdom. Is there an Ebony Black living here?"

The old sheep almost began to nod off again until Big stomped the ground with his foot, giving just enough force to wake her out of her near slumber. "Not at liberty to say. I think. Me wanna go sleepy now…"

Just as the sheep was about to nod off for good, a tall manx rushed in, pushing back her ponytail as she tossed Pyjamas out of the way. She was dressed in nothing but a pair of red hotpants and a tank top that didn't leave much to the imagination, almost as though she wasn't used to dressing for appearances. "Hey there! Sorry about that! Pyjamas isn't that bad, but she can be kind of spacey, ya know? Anyway, you must be here to see Ebony, right?"

"Now that you mention it," said Sally "yes we are. And you would be?"

"Oh, sorry! Guess I didn't introduce myself! Name's Tiara Boobowski, Ebony's apprentice!"

"Psst!", whispered Sticks. "We gotta get out of here now! Apprentices are bad news! They always want to kill their masters and take their power for themselves! With everyone around them as the casualties! We don't get out, it's certain death!"

Sally ignored Stick's ramblings as she said her piece. "Well, like I told your friend, I'm Sally, Princess of the Acorn Kingdom."

"Princess? Well I'll be! How about that?" Suddenly the gears in her brain started to click as though her thought processes had suddenly started working. "Wait a minute. This doesn't have to do with Eggman, does it?"

"Now that you mention it, yes it does. We'd like to ask your master a favor. We're willing to do anything in return, or at least within reason."

"I dunno. Ebony's fine with just about anything else, but Eggman gives her the willies. Or at least makes her a lot more cautious."

"Well, can you at least tell her why we're here?"

"Oh, I believe that's fairly self-evident." A deep echo could be heard all around Sonic and the others. Everyone looked up and around, attempting to find where the echo had come from. But as much as they tried, they couldn't see a thing beyond what was already there. Suddenly a black cat crossed their paths, right in the middle of the entryway. She appeared in a flash of black smoke that lasted only for the briefest of moments before clearing out, not it stopped everyone from trying to wave the smoke away as quick as they could. "Yeesh, teach'!" said Tiara. "Do you always have to make such a flashy entrance?"

The cat was dressed in a purple robe with white highlights that ran all the way down to her ankles, splitting apart at the waist to allow her full use of her hips. Her fur was black as ebony and her sharp eyes were as yellow as a Hunter's Moon. A long, bushy tail steadily swished back and forth, almost as if gaging the general mood.

She stared at Sally, almost as if gazing into her soul before she pulled away. "I don't believe we've had the pleasure. My name is Ebony. Ebony Black. And you are?"

Sally blinked a moment before hastily adjusting her vest and combing back her hair with her hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Sally Acorn, princess of the Acorn Kingdom and—"

"Yes, I believe I've heard of you. Although if the rumors are correct, you're currently without a kingdom. Or at least a capital."

"Yes, that's one way of putting it. But that's also the reason I'm here." She then told Ebony everything. About Eggman. About the loss of the capital. And of her father. "So you see, we're kind of out ideas at this point. Everything we've done to try and find Daddy and pull him out of wherever Eggman sent him has blown up in our faces. But we figured that if science couldn't help-"

"Then maybe magic could. I see. Please come in, will you?" She ushered Sally and the others into her abode. Astonishingly, it was bigger on the inside than the outside. It was more of a small mansion than a cottage. It still wasn't incredibly lavish, but neither was it some poor little shack.

Rows of shelves filled with books on subjects ranging anywhere from magic to cooking to of all things trashy romance novels dotted the walls while various artifacts and baubles were placed up above for all to see. A winding spiral staircase led up to another floor, filled with doorways leading to one room after another. There was a long table covered with a purple tablecloth right in the middle of the first floor, with just enough chairs for everyone to sit. Placed in the middle of the table was a large green orb, presumably for decoration. Though if Ebony was all she was cracked up to be, it may well have been more than just that.

"Please," said Ebony," make yourselves at home." She waved her fingers. Suddenly, all of the chairs moved away from the table, giving just enough room for everyone to take a seat. Needless to say, this turned more than a few heads.

Tails rubbed his eyes as he tried to make sense out of what he just saw. "Those chairs were always there, right? They had to be. They were, weren't they?"

"'Fraid not," said Tiara. "Trust me, you'll get used to it."

"Don't worry 'bout it, bro," said Sonic. "If it's magic, it's magic. Simple as that." He sped over to his seat and plopped in his chair, eager to get this show on the road. Everyone else soon followed suit.

"Now," said Ebony, "about your father. I believe you're expecting me to just whip up some magical vortex and pull him out like finding a needle in a haystack. Is that correct?"

"Well, I'm sure that magic is a much more complicated process than some make it out to be, but if I'm going to be honest, yes, I was. If only because I'm that desperate."

"I see. Well, let me tell you something first, Princess. Magic is not the be-all end-all. It is not some all-powerful solution that can do anything you wish whenever you wish, and there are some things that are nigh impossible to do. Or at the very least quite a bit harder than they have any right to be. Such as rescuing someone from another dimension. Do you know just where Doctor Eggman sent him by any chance?"

"Not exactly. We have an idea of the kind of place he may have been sent to, but we haven't been able to find him. And even if we could, we're still not sure we could get him out."

Ebony pinched her brow almost as if out of exasperation. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Hey," said Big, "at least she tried. Whereas far as I can tell, you've just been sitting pretty in this cottage. Even if you didn't know about him, the least you could've done is pitch in."

"Big," said Sally, "please…"

"No," said Ebony, "it's quite alright. What you say is true. I haven't really done much, have I? And perhaps I should have. Perhaps I should have done more. I was actually at the Capital you know. The day it happened. I used to run a cafe there with Tiara and Pyjamas. It wasn't much, but we got by. Mind you, even before Eggman took over, I could see the signs. There were more and more robots roaming the streets, with more and more power being given to Eggman by the day. I actually tried to warn you. I attempted to speak with the king. Tried to get him to see the end result of all this, even perhaps show him a vision of the future so that he might stray from his path. But I was refused an audience. And Eggman conquered the capital just as I thought he would."

She waved her fingers again, this time conjuring herself a glass of tea. The cup floated to her hand before she took a sip, almost with as much grace as royalty. "In short, I knew what was coming, and I attempted to stop it before it began. But my pleas were unheard on the grounds of what I could only assume to be stubbornness and pride. And just a few weeks later, the Capital was doomed. I was able to make it out with Tiara and Pyjamas, but most were not so fortunate. So forgive me if I'm somewhat reluctant to help the man who couldn't bother to see the obvious."

As Ebony said her piece, Pyjamas and Tiara had been handing out cups of tea, if somewhat haphazardly. Sally was drinking hers with the grace of royalty but almost choked on a sip when Ebony dared to make a crack about her father. And yet, as upset as she was, Ebony might have had a point.

"Are you implying that my father was indirectly responsible for what happened to the Capital?" said Sally.

"Honestly, I would have thought you would come to that conclusion yourself. Or did being the crown princess blind you to the obvious?"

Sally slowly put down her teacup before looking Ebony square in the eyes. "Look. I can understand where you're coming from. Perhaps Daddy should have been a bit more attentive. Perhaps he should have swallowed his pride and given you an audience. Perhaps he should have done a lot of things. But don't you dare insult Daddy like that again."

"I wasn't insulting anyone. I was merely stating the probable facts. At least as I understand them."

"In that case, you can take your facts and shove them up your—"

"Whoa, hey!" Big had just finished his large mug before pounding down on the table, hoping to keep Sally and Ebony from tearing each other apart. "Let's all chill a second, okay? No need to go dissing anyone's families here." He glared at Ebony. "Especially you."

Ebony sighed as though admitting defeat. "I suppose I was a tad harsh."

"Ya think?" said Sonic. "Look, I won't pretend like I know everything that was going on before I came to this place. Before I came here, I was going wherever I pleased. Never really stayed in one place for too long. But if there's one thing I know, it's that you can't get too worked up about the past. Maybe the King wasn't attentive enough, maybe he should've looked at Eggman a bit more, but either way, it's mute. What happened happened. Only thing you can do now is focus on what you're gonna do next. Or else you're just gonna drive yourself nuts."

"He's right, ya know," said Big. "What's important is the here and now. Everything else can wait till we send Eggman packing."

"Thank you, Big," said Sally. "And you too, Sonic. Ebony, as I said, I understand where you're coming from. I really do. I actually tried to warn Daddy before Eggman made his move. I told him about the growing number of SWATbots and Troopers. I told him that he was too trusting with Eggman, too naive. I urged him to do something about him, anything! But all he did was send me. And I guess it was too little, too late. If I'd talked to Daddy a month or maybe even a week before he started his attacks, maybe I could've done something. But it wasn't enough. And now we're paying the price."

"Come on, Sally!" said Tails. "You tried. That has to count for something. Besides, if it weren't for you, we probably wouldn't be here. Or at least not all together like this. Maybe you couldn't have stopped Eggman before he took over the Capital, but we can still stop him before he takes over anything else!"

"Thanks, Tails," said Sally. I really appreciate it."

As Tails spoke, Ebony took a good long look at the little two-tailed genius. Almost as if remembering someone she had tried to forget. "Excuse me, but what is your name again?"

"Uh, Tails. Sort of. Tails is a nickname I made up to sound a bit cooler. 'Miles Prower' doesn't have the same ring to it, does it?"

"'Prower'? You wouldn't happen to have an uncle, would you?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure. My parents said I had one, but he hasn't been seen in so long I'm not even sure they were telling the truth."

"I see. Let's table that for now, shall we?" Ebony's sharp, bright green eyes narrowed as she turned to Sally. She took a moment to take a prolonged sip of her tea, almost observing Sally as she did. "If I may be candid, I almost thought that you wouldn't be so different from your father when you came knocking on my door. But perhaps I was mistaken."

" ," said Sally, "I love my father. I truly do. But even I know he made some mistakes. And as his daughter, it's up to me to fix them."

"Are you sure? That's putting quite a lot on yourself. Are you truly willing to bear the burden of not only saving the capital but also correcting your father's mistakes?"

"Well, if we can save Daddy, maybe I won't have to worry about that just yet. But if I have to, well, I'm honestly not sure if I can. But I have to try."

"I see. In that case, I believe my mind's made up."

Sally's hands started to grip her teacup as though she almost couldn't bear to hear the results. "And?"

"Well, it's quite obvious, isn't it? I suppose I've no choice but to help."

Sally nearly jumped out of her vest before managing to constrain herself. "You really mean it?!"

"Please, child. If you're supposed to be a princess, act like it. But yes, I will help you. The king may have been an ignorant relic, but you may be the future this kingdom needs. And I suppose I can't let someone suffer when I am able to ease that suffering."

"Oh thank you thank you THANK YOU!"

"What did I just say about acting the part?"

"Hey, give her a break," said Sonic. "You just said you'd help her get her father back! If it were me, I'd be jumping too."

"You aren't the next in line for the throne. She is. And depending on what shape the king is in when we find him or even if we find him, she may have to take his place sooner than later."

"Smooth," muttered Big. "No pressure."

"Wait a minute," said Sally. She slowly rose from her chair, her eyes filling with fear and dread. "'If' we find him? What's that supposed to be mean?"

"Princess Acorn—"

"Just Sally, please."

"Very well. To put it bluntly, 'Just Sally', when someone has gone where your father has likely gone, there isn't much chance of them coming back. Much less surviving the trip in the first place. But that doesn't mean there isn't a chance. I will still make every effort I can to find him, but there is a considerable possibility that he isn't to be found and it is one you may have to face."

"You know," said Sonic, "there's being a realist and then there's being a pessimist."

"Actually," said Tails, "I think I'll have to agree with Ebony on this one. The odds of finding the specific dimension Eggman sent the King to are slim enough as is, but who knows if he's still alive. I mean, for all we know, he could be—"

Suddenly, Sally began to sniffle as she wiped away a teary mist from her eyes. She tried to keep it from coming as much as she could, but even Sonic could see it was all she could do to stay standing.

"Hey, kiddo," whispered Big. "Ease up, will ya?"

Tails realized at once just what he had done and began to apologize profusely. Sonic supposed even a genius could make mistakes. "Sorry, Sally. I guess I wasn't really thinking."

"It's alright, Tails." Sally wiped away most of the tears, her fur drying up the last of them. She turned back to Ebony, barely managing to keep more tears from pouring out of her sockets before facing her head on. "You're right. You all are. Maybe there isn't much of a chance of saving Daddy. Maybe it's all just hopeless. But I have to try. Because he means more to me than anything. And anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me. Understand?"

"Well said," said Ebony. "Perhaps you do have what it takes to follow in your father's footsteps. Or even surpass him."

"Honestly, that is the farthest thing from my mind. All I care about is saving Daddy, taking back the Capital, and kicking Eggman out of my kingdom. Until I've done all three of those things, I'm not even going to think about the throne."

"Fair enough. In any case, you have my word that I will do whatever it takes to locate and free your father. Although given how long that will take, I suppose it wouldn't be prudent to stay here. I trust you don't mind us moving in with you for a while?"

Sally was almost ecstatic. She had wanted to see if Ebony was the real deal ask her to help find Daddy if she could, but actually joining them at Knothole? That was more than she could have hoped for. "Are you sure? Don't get me wrong, I'd really appreciate it, but—"

"I'm always sure. I almost never make a decision without being sure. Being a magician helps with that tremendously. In any case, locating your father and opening a portal to retrieve him is going to take a week at the very least. And working on something like that for so long in plain sight is just asking for trouble. Besides, I've sat this out for far too long. It's high past time I rose to the occasion."

By this point, Sonic was getting somewhat bored. He was doing his best to stay alert, but he was starting to tap his foot with greater and greater frequency until it was almost vibrating. "So, no offense, but this does mean we're done here?"

"Well," said Sally, "we did come here to see if Ebony could help us, and she is! So unless something pops up out of the blue—"

Ebony and Tiara suddenly jumped up out of their seats. Their eyes were narrowed and focused, almost as though they were vicious hunters searching for their prey. Big soon sat up as well, his ears pricking as though he could sense something most others couldn't. It wasn't quite the same as Ebony and Tiara's ferocity or awareness, but he was still more serious and attentive than Sonic had ever seen him.

"Ebony?" said Sally. "Big?! What's going on?"

"Quiet!" said Ebony. "Something isn't right." She slowly began to look around as though searching for something or someone until her eyes settled straight next to the door. And Tiara and Big's did the same. "Someone's here."

Suddenly a canister of mustard gas was lobbed through the open window. It let out its' contents upon impact and spread through the cottage like wildfire, chocking everyone within. Ebony and Tiara attempted to conjure up some sort of spell to nullify it, perhaps try to get everyone out of there, but they were too busy coughing up their lungs to do much of anything.

That just left Sonic. He was starting to cough a bit too, but he couldn't afford to let himself succumb. Because if he did, everyone else was toast. He zipped straight outside for the briefest of moments to breath and get one big gulp of fresh air before heading back in.

By the time he made it back, most everyone had fallen to the floor, though Big was still standing. He was trying to haul everyone over his shoulder and carry them to safety, but even for someone with large lungs like Big, it was still a risky proposition. Sonic raced over to him and gave him a thumbs up before waving him off. He then picked everyone else up and zipped them outside before they could take another gulp of the gas. Big was the last to come out, lumbering and nearly suffocating all the while, though he still managed to make it.

"Hold on there, people!" Sonic zoomed around everyone like a whirlwind, trying his best to clear out any leftover gas still around Sally and the others. He couldn't afford to do it for long, not without lifting everyone up in a miniature twister, but hopefully it would still help. Before long, everyone's coughing fits began to cease before halting altogether. They were still a bit worse for wear, their eyes pink and blurry and their lungs hoarse and raw, but they managed to make it.

"Thanks, Sonic," whispered Sally. She'd managed to get back up on her feet, but that was probably about all she could get out until the gas wore out some more. She gave him a brief yet intense hug. Judging by the look on her face, she surprised even herself. And Sonic was slowly starting to realize that maybe Sally was a bit more than a friend.

Unfortunately, that still left them with one glaring question. Or rather two. Who tossed the mustard gas into Ebony's home? And why would they do such a thing? Sonic attempted to think about it, to try and figure out if anyone they knew was capable of such a thing, but unfortunately for him, his brainpower simply wasn't up to the task.

Not that anyone cared. Just as everyone started to get their bearings, there was a loud click from behind. Sonic whirled around in a flash. Surprisingly, it wasn't anyone he knew. Standing close to the edge of the bushes and dressed in a cowboy hat was a small grey weasel carrying two laser pistols, one in each hand. And one of them was pointed straight at Sonic's forehead.

"Mornin, mate. Name's Nack. And this one's got your name on it."


	59. Black as Ebony, Part 2

**FIVE MINUTES AGO**

"Hey, do they got any shinies? I want a shiny! Shinies for everyone!"

"Will ya pipe down, mate?!" Nack shoved a duck's green feathery head back into the bushes as it tried to get a peep at the complete and total strangers entering Ebony's hut. That was troublesome enough. They hadn't counted on anyone showing up out of the blue and muddying things up. Not that they couldn't handle it, but as far as he was concerned, dealing with one group of misfits was already nearly above his pay grade.

"But Bean wants shinies!" The duck known as Bean got down on his knees, practically begging Nack to let him have a shiny. "Shines are the only thing Bean lives for. Well, that and bombs. And shiny bombs And really shiny bombs. PRETTY PLEASE GIVE BEAN A SHINY!"

Bean felt a sharp pain to the back of his head as something struck him from behind like a small rock firing from a sling. For the briefest of moments, his childish attitude vanished and was replaced with nothing but sheer malice. "Okay, who the hell threw that?! It was one of you bastards, wasn't it? Wasn't it?! You tell me who it was or else I'm gonna rip out your entrails and piss on your—"

Another small object struck him again, only this time Bean could make out who threw it. She was a gray weasel wearing a cowboy hat and a pair of booties, same as Nack. The only other things she had on her aside from a couple of pistols, some boots, and some other doohickies was a small vest and a pair of short cackies, but that was about it. And as Bean could now see, she wasn't slinging just anything at him. Instead, it was shiny speckled pebbles from a pouch strapped around her waist. Just what Bean liked best.

"Down boy!" she said. She got ready to throw another pebble, convinced that she was going to have to do quite a bit to keep him in line.

Not that she had to worry. Beat got down on his knees like a beggar, his eyes wide like a little kid's as he started scooping up the pebbles like a toddler. "Ooo! Shiny! Bean loves shinies! Shinies make the world go round! Nicki got any more shinies!?"

"Sorry, Bean. You want more shinies, you're just gonna have to do the mission like everyone else."

"Okey-dokey!" Bean closed his eyes and started humming to himself as though he were lost in his own little word, though not before briefly talking with another of their entourage. "Come on, Bark! Let's sing! You can sing, can't ya?"

Bark was a rather large polar bear, dressed in a red beanie and a long green scarf. He was tall and wide like a block of ice and had a personality to match. And like a block of ice, he didn't speak. At all. Nack wasn't sure if he couldn't or wouldn't, but either way, it made communicating with him harder than need be. Bark looked at Bean as though he had said the stupidest thing in his life before the latter got the message.

"Oh! Can't sing, huh? Well, that's okay! You just let Bean know what you wanna do! Bean's easy!" He then went back to playing with his toys and shinies, almost like it was all a game.

Nack slid his furry gray hand over his face, almost not sure if he was going to make it. "Sis, tell me somethin'. When did it come to this?"

"Come to what?" said Nicki.

"When we're havin' to work with a bunch of weirdos and freaks just to make ends meet, that's what!"

"Hey, when you can do anything these boys can, let me know. If nothin' else, they're hella useful."

"You think someone who can't even tie his own shoelaces together is useful?!" Nack pointed behind him. Sitting with his feet in front of him was a yellow cat in a black cowboy hat and long brown coat. His right arm was made of metal, as were his legs. Not that it stopped him from wearing a pair of jeans and some shoes to go with them. At the moment, he was dead set on putting the right piece through the right loop, desperate to get his shoes tied before things got hectic. All he had to do was slip it through. Just get it through the hole. Just a little bit more and—

And he missed. Again. Because of course he did. "Tarnation!" He took off one of his shoes and nearly hurled it out of the bush before Bark seized his hand with one big red mitt. If not for him, their cover would have been blown before they could even say 'FUBAR.'

"Oh. Sorry about that. Guess I wasn't thinkin'!"

Nack placed his head in his hands and groaned as if cradling an oncoming headache.

"Well," said Nicki, "he's a cyborg! I mean, apparently, this new group of Freedom Fighters or whatever already has one! Maybe even two, sorta! Gotta fight fire with fire!"

"He doesn't even need shoes! His feet are made of metal! They're practically already shoes! Why is he even trying to put on shoes?!"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe they just turn him on?" Sitting at the far end of the bushes was the last member of their little band, though Nack wasn't even sure if she was really a member. She'd only joined up recently, and Nack didn't know if she'd be staying for long. Not that she didn't have her talents.

She was sprawled out on the grass like a pin-up cover, her tight black leather only serving to accentuate her assets. She was foxy as could be, and not just because of her species. Every move of hers seemed designed to be as outrageous or provocative as possible, almost as though it were a game to her. "I mean, I know if I had myself a cute little toy or fashion piece, I'd want to get as much out of it as I could. Only makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Not really, no."

"Hey," said Nicki, "don't mind him, luv! He's just havin' an early mid-life crisis is all."

"I am not havin' an early mid-life crisis! You're the one with the mid-life crisis!"

"You keep tellin' yourself that."

Desperate for anything to even temporarily alleviate him of the gang of morons and weirdos he had assembled, he took another look outside the bush. As far as he could tell, everyone had gone inside. Which would potentially make them easy pickings. "Finally! Alright, everyone stays in the bush 'till I give them the signal! 'Cept for Nicki."

Bean's hand shot up into the air like a toddler wanting to go potty. "Ooh! Ooh! I got an idea! I got an idea!"

"Oh, Gaea, please don't tell me it's about the exploding whoopee cushions."

"If we get loads and loads of bombs and stuff in them a million jazillion whoopie cushions and force feed them to everyone ever born ever until their bellies explode—"

Fiona quickly placed a finger to Bean's lips, though she still didn't seem to care too much either way. "Hush, darling. You don't want to give our fearless leader an ulcer, would you?"

"Wouldn't be the first time," Nack grumbled. "Anyway, with any luck, these are just a bunch of everyday schmoes. And if they aren't, that's what you lot's for."

"Just let me know when I can shoot somebody!" said Fleabyte. "That's my favorite part of the job!"

Nack grumbled again, this time muttering a variety of colorful expletives and metaphors before closing his eyes and taking a deep, long breath. "Again. You lot. Sit. Wait. Signal. Understand me?" He lept out of the bushes and ran over to the nearest window, eager to begin the assault. He just hoped that despite everything potentially being stacked against them that things would proceed without a hitch.

This was going to blow up in their collective faces, wasn't it?

* * *

 **NOW**

Sonic wasn't even the teeniest bit scared when some two-bit weasel mercenary started waving a pistol in his face. Not unless he was the fastest shot alive. No, he was more angry than scared. Angry that some jackass had tried to hurt him, Sally, and everyone else and then had the gall to act like he was the biggest thing since sliced bread. If anyone hadn't made it out of there alive, Sonic would've shoved that pistol right up his ass.

As is, everyone was safe. If only just starting to get themselves together. Sonic was still looking down the barrel of Nack's gun, not that he really cared. "Does it now? Gotta say, I'm a bit flattered. Not everyone makes a bullet for yours truly."

"Don't get cocky, mate. This thing's one of the best pistols 'round these parts, and I'm even better. You don't do what I say and one of us ain't gonna be around much longer."

"You don't say."

"Mate, I don't think you're taking this as seriously as you—-"

One second and flash of blue later and both of Nack's guns were ripped straight from his hands. Sonic held one of them aloft as he stood in the same exact place he had been, looking through the barrels as though giving it a proper examination. "Honestly, I'm not the biggest expert on guns, but this doesn't look top of the line here."

Nack was flabbergasted, barely able to get a word out before just barely managing to compose himself. "I, what, how did you do that?!"

"Hey, I'm the fastest thing alive. If ya didn't know, that's your problem."

"Oh, he didn't know alright. But I do." A bright yellow light flashed from the bushes, engulfing Sonic in a prison of hard light before he could move a muscle and completely restraining his movements. Another weasel stepped forward. She looked almost exactly like Nack, only if he was a girl. Which judging by the way she carried herself was something she reveled in.

"Whew!" Nack wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead as he breathed a sigh of relief. "What took ya so long, sis?!"

"Hey, this is some top-notch equipment here. Getting this all together is harder than it looks."

By now, everyone else had managed to more or less recover, much to their dismay. After all, seeing Sonic literally stopped in his tracks wasn't exactly a happy occasion.

"Big bro?!" Tails raced over to Sonic, placing his hands on the prison before pounding it to try and break through. "Don't worry, big bro! I'll get you out of there! Just hold on a minute!"

Meanwhile, Sally soon noticed the same thing as Tails before rushing over there almost as fast as he did. "Sonic?! Are you okay?!"

"Oh, he's fine," said Nicki. "But he won't be if you don't do exactly what we say. Should've done this in the first place."

"What did you do to him?!"

"Looks like she put him in some sort of hard light stasis beam," said Tails. "Maybe if I can reverse engineer my laser pistol—"

"Or you can just do what me and sis want and wait for us to let him go," said Nack. "Or maybe we should do it to the rest of you bleeders."

"If I may be so bold," said Ebony, "what exactly do you want from us in the first place?"

"Good question. See, we're workin' for someone pretty high up on the totem pole, and you've got somethin' he wants."

"You mean Eggman?" said Tiara.

"Not at liberty to say," said Nicki. "Though Eggman ain't the only fish in the sea. Now, our boss has it on pretty good authority that you've got somethin' pretty darn powerful. Some green orb or whatever."

Ebony's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Does he now?"

Nack adjusted the brim of his hat, making sure it shadowed his eyes just enough without actually covering them. "Hey, it ain't for us to question why. He wants it, we get it. Now, you gonna hand it over, or are we gonna have to get nasty?"

"You're still assuming I actually have it. For all you know, your boss may be a crackpot with delusions of grandeur who doesn't actually know what he's talking about."

"Maybe," said Nicki, "but he's a crackpot that's loaded." She reached for her other side, pulling a laser pistol and aiming it at Sonic's forehead. "Now, are you gonna cough it up? Or are we gonna have to go beyond nasty? Not that I mind."

Ebony's eyes darted back and forth between Sonic and her house as though her eyes were racing. As far as anyone could tell, she couldn't just let someone die on her watch, but she also didn't seem to want Nack and Nicki taking so much as a step inside her house. She tried to think, tried to make her decision. Until at last, she made her choice.

Not that she needed to. Just as she was about to tell the weasels what she wanted to do, Sonic began to get somewhat blurry. And in a manner of seconds, he was blurrier still. The same was true of his hard light prison. It started to shake and rumble, at times becoming almost transparent. Until the hard light finally broke into pieces like a giant stone somehow imploding on itself.

Before anyone could so much as gasp, Sonic grabbed both of Nicki's weapons ("Hey!") and threw them over the cliff, leaving them to the mercy of the river below. "There! Try doing that again, will ya?!"

Tails was overjoyed to see his 'big bro' safe ("Big bro!"), but Sally was ecstatic. "Sonic! Are you alright?"

"Course I am. Just vibrated myself as fast as I could till whatever was surrounding me couldn't hold me. Works every time." He turned towards the weasels. "As for you two, that's strike two out of three. You really want to try for that last one?"

Nack was shaking in his boots for the briefest of moments before gathering his wits. "Actually, now that you mention it…" He blew his fingers together, letting out a shrill whistle that sent nearly every insect flying and made everyone in the area painfully aware of it.

A group of figures burst from the bushes from behind. Sonic just managed to notice someone striking him from the rear before he stepped out of the way of a sharp, piercing blast of energy, barely managing to avoid being turned into hedgehog fricassee.

"Tarnation!" A cat with mangy yellow fur stood before him, dressed like a cowboy from the West. Smoke drifted from an outstretched metallic palm as if it wasn't obvious who fired the blast. His arm and both of his legs were made of metal, much like Bunnie. Though Sonic wasn't sure if this one's transformation was accidental.

"Nifty setup you've got there," said Sonic. "I know someone who's got one just like it."

"Ya don't say." Fleabyte fired another blast, but Sonic dodged it just as quickly.

"Seriously? You're gonna have to come up with somethin' better than that! Doesn't matter how strong you are if you can't hit me, can ya?"

"Rootin' tootin' Gaea forsaken varmint!" Fleabyte growled as two jet thrusters emerged beneath his feet sending him forward like a missile. He aimed straight at Sonic, his speed almost dizzying. But not dizzying enough. Sonic managed to zip out of the way just in time, and Fleabyte found himself flying right into another block of land. A much bigger block of land. At eye level. "Oh, Gaea." And splat went the cat. Sonic just hoped everyone was having an even easier time of it than he was.

* * *

"Boom boom boom, you're dead! Boom shakalakah!"

Tails and Sticks were busy dealing with a green duck with a red bandana around his neck who might as well have escaped from a lunatic asylum. Bean was bouncing around as giddy as could be, tossing bombs left and right with wild abandon. (How he was able to throw out so many bombs was another story.)

There were so many bombs being thrown at such great frequency that it was all Tails and Sticks could do to dodge them, with Tails bobbing and weaving and Sticks leaping to and fro on the ground below. "Run!" said Bean. "Run or you'll be well done! Or maybe just blown into tiny bits. Sometimes I lose track. Hey, anyone up for a game of parchesi?!"

Tails was trying to blast him with his laser rifle, but in between attempting to aim while also dodging each of the blasts, that was easier said than done. "This! Is! Insane!"

"You're telling me!" Sticks was faring much the same as Tails if only on the ground, though only having a boomerang arguably made things that much more difficult by default. "Fact he's gotta be a servant of the great Boom Boom Kaboom aside, with us stuck on one little piece of land and bombs going every which way, there ain't much room to maneuver! Nevermind everything else going on! Just goes to show you don't don't underestimate Kaboom!"

"Forget about Kaboom! If we don't do something, we're toast!"

Meanwhile, Bean was starting to get restless. "Come on, guys! You're no fun! I wanna blow you all to little itty bitty pieces! Least till I get my shinies! Shinies are life. All hail the shinies!"

And that's when it hit him. "Hey," said Tails, "you like shinies?" He waved his gun in the sunlight. It wasn't shiny on its own, but underneath the afternoon sun, the sheen of his metal rifle might just have been enough to do the job.

For the moment it seemed to work. Bean was entranced. Any bombs he had conjured up that had yet to explode somehow disappeared, and he was utterly fixated on nothing else but the gun.

"Well, go get it!" Tails threw his gun down into the ravine, hoping Bean would chase after it like a complete and utter loony. Which he did.

"MAH SHINY!" Bean chased after the gun, diving off the cliff and into the ravine below in an attempt to save it.

Tails sighed in relief. "That takes care of him. Still feel kind of bad though. I'm not sure if he's gonna make it."

Sticks scoffed. "You kidding?! Tails, I might be overly cautious, but I ain't stupid. He's a duck. And what can ducks do?"

Tails looked down. Sure enough, Bean was floating to the ground like a leaf on the wind, his feathers carrying him down as he embraced the gun like a mother hugging her long lost child. "There, there! You're all safe now! Daddy's got you." However, rather than do the smart thing and fly back up, he instead floated down to a small patch of land at the bottom of the block and landed with all the grace of an anvil. He cradled the gun like a newborn babe, rocking it while singing it a soothing lullaby. "Rockabye gunny, on the sand top. When the wind blows, the sand top will rock…"

Tails was more disturbed than anything. Not just at Bean, but that Sticks had a strangely wistful smile on your face. "Oh, don't mind me. Just looks kinda fun!"

"I'll take your word for it. Anyway, we've still got to help big bro and the others."

"Assuming they need help," said Sticks. "We already took care of Happy easy! How hard could taking on everyone else be?"

* * *

"Persistent, aren't you?"

Ebony had summoned up a wall of water from the rivers around her. It protected her and Tiara, keeping them safe from the blasts of fire that were being sent their way from Fiona. She had been conjuring up a cadre of little fire whisps with just two little words ("Fox Fire!"), all shaped like miniature foxes and all eager to burn Ebony and anyone with her to a cinder. The wall of water was managing to douse them for now, but there was no telling how long Ebony could keep it up.

"Oh, you got that right," said Fiona. "When there's something I want, I never stop until I get it. Rule number one in my line of work."

"And just what is your line of work exactly?"

Fiona held up her fingernails as if to revel in their radiant beauty. "Oh, you know. Thieving, infiltrating, doing things no-one else wants to do. I don't like to brag, but I'm pretty good at it. Still not as good as my boss though."

Ebony was doing her best to keep the wall up, though magic wasn't some infinite resource that grew on trees. It had its limits. She needed to go on the offensive. Or else she was through.

"I see. And is your boss able to conjure up fire out of thin air without so much as blinking?"

"Of course not. I'm no mage. This is just something I was born with."

And that was the chink in the armor she needed. "I see. In that case, you won't see this coming then."

Fiona wasn't sure just what Ebony meant until it was too late. Another stream of water rocketed out of the ravine, only this time it was aimed towards Fiona like a blast from a hose. It came down from above and blasted her to the ground, dousing her fire and keeping her from being able to focus on anything but trying not to drown to death. All that was left was the finishing touch.

"Tiara!" said Ebony. "Conjure up a sleep spell, won't you? Before our friend tries anything foolish."

"Right!" Tiara hopped closer to Fiona before waving her fingers, whispering a short incantation before a sparkling grey powder sprinkled over her. Fiona tried to fight it, rolling around and trying to get up and even attempting to unleash more blasts of foxfire. But with that blast of water keeping her down, there wasn't much she could do.

Fiona's eyes started to droop as her muscles loosened up, her resistance beginning to weaken. Ebony started to slowly lessen the pressure of the water jet, lowering it bit by bit as Fiona slowly but surely fell into a deep slumber. Her eyes closed one final time, though not before uttering a single, solitary name. "Rouge…" And that was that.

Ebony nearly slumped her to knees, her furry forehead bristling with sweat. Though she still had one last thing to do. One wave of her arm was all it took to surround Fiona with a cage of solid green emerald. With any luck, that would prevent her from escaping. Assuming she had enough strength left to try.

"Right," she said. "With that out of the way, I suppose we had better—"

Suddenly Big came flying past to her, skidding on the ground before stopping just at the edge of the cliff. And Bark was right on his tail.

"Gaea!" said Tiara. "Talk about a slugfest!"

"That's one way of putting it." She turned to Big. "Do you need any assistance?"

Before Big could so much as grunt, Bark made his move. He leaped toward Big, intending on ending it with one mighty blow right in the throat. But Big had other plans. Timing it just right, he lifted up his legs precisely at the moment Bark got close, kicking upward with both feet and flipping him clear over a cliff. Bark didn't so much as scream as he plummeted into the river like a stone.

"Thanks, but I think I've got it covered." He massaged his jaw, spitting out a tooth into his other hand before holding it for all to see. "Hope Knothole's got a good dentist."

"Then I suppose that takes care of that. Now let's see here…" Ebony closed her eyes and concentrated, sensing if anyone else needed help. "The fox and the badger seem to have things in hand. Whereas the hedgehog made short work of his opponent. So that just leaves…"

"Sal."

"If you mean the princess, you'd be correct. We'll have to hope nothing's happened to her before we can reach her. Because if it has? Then there goes the kingdom."

* * *

"That just leaves us, don't it, luv?"

Sally was facing down the barrel of a gun. Nack was aiming his spare laser pistol hidden under his hat straight at her, and Nicki was ready to do the same with her own if anything went wrong. Suffice to say, things were not looking too good for at the moment. She was doing her best not to appear the slightest bit nervous or scared, though her pounding heart made that a tall order.

"I guess not. I don't suppose there's anything I could say to get you two to back off?"

"Not likely, luv. 'Less you could make us a better offer?"

'A better offer'? Now there was an idea. After a moment the gears started turning in Sally's head, working through various different plans and stratagems until she had decided on one simple maneuver that could not fail. The bribe.

"Actually, I think I could."

"That so?"

"What would you say if I told you I was the one and only Princess of the Acorn Kingdom?"

"I'd say that's a load of rubbish. Do you seriously expect me to believe that you're some Princess walkin' around as you please?"

"Actually, she might be at that." Nicki's eyes narrowed as if remembering something from long ago. "I've seen newspaper clippings of her from a few years back. Something about the Acorn Kingdom festival. And aside from bein' a few years older, she's practically the spitting image."

"You mean she is who she says she is?"

"Might be. Not sure what she'd be doing all the way up here, but she looks the part. And if she is, she could net us some nice moolah."

"Exactly," said Sally. "The Acorn Kingdom may not be the biggest country in the world, but it's still got quite the bank account. And with Da— I mean, the king MIA, I'm basically in charge. Whatever you're being offered, I can double it."

"Hold on there, mate. Far as we've heard, this Eggman's still got hold of the capital. How do we know you'll be able to pay us?"

"Because we put all of our funds in an online account last year. That's why." Of course, this was a baldfaced lie, but they didn't need to know that.

Nack fiddled with his hat, carefully gauging her offer. "You do realize if it turns out you've been lyin' to us, your ass is grass?"

"Completely."

"Hey," said Nicki, "I say we believe her. Sides, if she is lyin', we can always come back and pick up the orb later. And maybe have us some regicide while we're at it."

"Eh, whatever. I'm easy." Nack put away his gun and blew his fingers together. "Come on, everybody! Deal's off! We got ourselves a better offer! Let's scarper, shall we?"

Nick waited for a response from anyone. Anyone at all. But no-one came. "What's keeping 'em? Couldn't have already bought it, could they?"

"Not quite, but not for lack of trying." Suddenly Sonic rushed in, tearing away any additional weapons Nack and Nicki might have had and making sure they couldn't harm a fly. The others came over in short order, surrounding the pair of weasels and leaving them nowhere to run. "Though if I were to guess, I'd say everyone's mincemeat. You okay, Sal?"

"I'm fine, Sonic. But thanks." She turned back to the weasels. "In any case, I think it's safe to say our deal's off. You understand."

Nack was fuming. Smoke practically came out of his ears as his face became reddened in rage, his fists clenching as he no doubt formed a strong desire to kill somebody. "You two-timing son of a—"

"Now, now," said Nicki. "No need to go callin' anyone names. Sides, that ain't gonna help none. Best thing we can do is pack up and call it a day."

"It really is," said Sally. "Unless you want to spend only who knows how long in a cell?"

"She has a point," said Tails.

"Pretty much," said Sonic.

"Indeed," said Ebony. "Because it would either be that or being turned into toads. Which, under the proper circumstances, I am quite capable of."

Nack looked as though he were about to burst a gasket until he finally managed to reign himself in. "Fine. We're leavin'. But don't think we won't be back. Because we're gonna get that orb."

"So you say. Now will you kindly gather the others and make yourselves scarce? Or will I have to turn you all into pets?"

Nack and Nicki quickly looked at one another and gulped before doing as asked. "Fine," said Nack. "Though you might have to give us a minute. Or two. Maybe three. Cause far as I can tell, you've scattered everyone to the four winds."

"Oh," said Sally. "Well, I suppose that's fair. But if you try anything—"

"If we try anything we're toast. Pretty easy to understand. Now, if we can be allowed to get the other Hooligans together and be on our way…"

"Of course." With Sally's blessing, Nack and Nicki were able to rescue the other Hooligans and would be on their way shortly after. For the most part. Strangely enough, Fiona was nowhere to be found. As far as they could tell, she'd managed to regain consciousness after Ebony and Tiara took care of her and took off. Apparently Tiara had somewhat bungled the sleep spell, something Ebony would no doubt be giving her flak about for years to come.

"Well then," said Ebony. "At the very least, we've managed to route those bunglers. I suspect they'll be back. But we should be ready for them. Although we still haven't figured out who they're working for."

"Maybe, but I think I've got somethin' that might help." Sonic rolled open his fist, revealing a crumpled piece of paper sitting on his palm. "Took it when I stole their guns. It was wedged right next to the guy's holsters. Figured I might as well take it. Wouldn't hurt anything, would it?"

"Sonic, you're a marvel." Sally gave Sonic a short hug and a quick peck on the cheek before going back to the paper. Her face blushed as she realized the full ramifications of what she had done, but that didn't matter. She had work to do. She began to unfold it, though not without noticing that Sonic was acting somewhat odd. He was standing completely still, his hand holding his cheek at the same spot Sally pecked it. Almost as though he couldn't believe that just happened.

"Sonic?"

"Uh, I'm fine, Sal. Just wasn't expecting that. If you know what I mean."

"To be honest, I wasn't expecting it either. It just sort of happened."

"Well, maybe it's just me, but I wouldn't mind that happenin' again."

And now Sally was the one standing still. It didn't take her long to realize the implications. "Oh. Well, in that case, I don't think I'd mind either."

The two of them stared at one another for a moment until Sally suddenly blurted something out. "Uh, hey, when we get back, do you maybe want to get something to eat? If you're still hungry?"

"Uh, sure. Maybe some chilidogs?"

"Maybe. Or, I don't know, maybe we could have dinner?"

"Sure! Dinner! Great! I think."

"Good! Real good."

"Uh, guys?" said Tails. "Are you two okay?"

Big pulled Tails aside and put a finger to his mouth, gently encouraging him not to interrupt.

"Uh, so," said Sally. "That paper?"

"Oh yeah!" Sonic unfolded the piece of paper in a flash as everyone began gathering around to read it. "Let's see here. It says, 'Ransack Ebony's shack. Grab green orb. Report to MM.' 'MM'? The heck's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever it is," said Tails, "I don't think it's referring to Eggman."

"That's what I'm thinking too," said Sally. "One of them did say there's other fish in the sea."

Sonic pinched his brow, almost as though this wasn't something he wanted to deal with. "So now we've got to deal with both Eggman and whoever's trying to take Ebony's orb. Because of course we do."

"Uh, Ebony," said Tails, "if you don't mind telling me, why would anyone want to steal your orb? For that matter, who would?"

"Well," said Ebony, "it is a rather potent artifact. I mostly use it for telling the future or seeing into far off lands or dimensions, but it could also be used as a power source so long as whoever's using it knows what they're doing. Though as a power source for what, I'm not entirely sure. Nor am I sure who would want it. Although…"

"Ebony," said Sally, "if you have any clue who it is, you have to tell us. Please."

"Very well. When I was but a child still living with my old master, a strange Mobian came to our doorstep. He looked somewhat like an elephant, but he was considerably hairier and somewhat larger as well. He was dressed in a tailored white suit and was polite to a fault. It was clear that he wanted the orb, but my master wouldn't let just anyone have it. He denied the orb to him and kept it safe until I inherited it when I was old enough. And I've done the same to anyone else who wants to see it."

"Out of curiosity, what was his name?"

"I was just getting to that. It's been some time since I've had to remember him, but I remember it well enough. Including his name: Mammoth Mogul.

* * *

Mammoth Mogul was sitting in a velvet chair in the middle of a rather luxurious penthouse. He was surrounded with nearly everything he could want. Classic literature, exquisite paintings, finely sculpted statues, gems and jewelry, fine wine and finer women. In particular, a buxom bunny in fishnets held a glass of wine on a gold plate next to his chair, all while Mammoth waved his fingers as he listened in ecstasy to Neightothen's the Fifth.

His evening of pleasure was soon to be interrupted. A loud ring rang from his pockets like an alarm bell. He did his best to ignore it, trying in vain to block it out and get sucked into the glorious music, but as the rings continued, it was increasingly apparent that he didn't have much choice. He pressed a button on the right arm of his chair, the music coming to a halt as he did so. He turned to the bunny. "I'm so sorry, Francesca, but I believe something has come up. Be a good girl and wait in the hall until I'm done, will you?"

"Of course, Master Mogul." Francesca bowed before strutting out the door, her hips sashaying and swaying for maximum oomph. All of which Mammoth Mogul barely cared for. It was a beautiful distraction if nothing else. But that was all it was.

He seized his cellphone from his pocket and held it to his ear, wanting more than anything to get it over with. "Why hello there, . I didn't expect to hear from you so soon. I do trust you've obtained what I requested?"

No-one but Mogul could hear the Mobian on the other line, but from the way his brow was starting to furrow, it might have been a good idea not to get on his bad side.

"Are you telling me that you failed to get the orb? …I see. Princess Acorn, you say? And her little friends? In other words, are you telling me that you were beaten by children? No, I don't care if the cat is old enough to be Fiona's father. The facts are that most of them are children and yet you still lost! As well as failed to get the orb. In any case, you may keep the advance. That isn't going to dent my pocketbook by any means. But don't expect anything else. Not until you get the orb. Do you understand me? Good. Then we have nothing to worry about. Call me when you get the orb. And not a moment before."

Mammoth waited a moment before crushing his phone like tinfoil. He supposed he'd have to buy a new phone sooner or later. On top of that, he began to wonder if hiring these 'Hooligans' was such a good idea. He didn't want to use his own men if possible. He preferred to use whatever resources he had in whatever ways he could to get ahead. And employing your own troops in dangerous situations that could likely kill them was a recipe for disaster. Still, taking any rash actions wouldn't be doing anyone any favors.

So instead, he chose to wait. To wait until just the right moment to take whatever he wanted. And perhaps he would finally get what he truly desired. He laid back in his chair and called Francesca back in, pressing the button for a second time as he did. He might have had to do some talking later, but for now? For now, it could wait. If nothing else, he certainly had the time.


	60. A Day in the Life of Mina

_If you're strong, you can fly, you can reach the other side of the rainbow_ _…_

It's all right, take a chance, there is no circumstance that you can't… manhandle? Oh geez, this isn't going to work…

Uh, hi there. I'm Mina, and I guess this is my diary. Or at least the latest one. Sometimes I write so fast, I end up going through five of them in a week! Honestly, even with me being so fast and all, that isn't something I would've pegged from me because I never really have a lot to say. But with everything going on, I guess there's a lot to talk about.

I guess we should start from the top? I've been a Freedom Fighter for a while now. It's a group of resistance fighters trying to take down Doctor Eggman even though there's a pretty good shot we're all gonna kick it. I mean, I don't really care too much. That is, I do care, but I'm not really sure I've really done a whole lot with my life that's meaningful, so if it's gonna end, I might as well end it doing something worthwhile. Or at least that's what I thought.

See, I've been with the FF for a while now. Least a couple months. Long enough for this island to finally get a full militia and take on Eggman head on. According to Sally, this means the Freedom Fighters can finally start attacking the Chemical Plant and any other strongholds in just a bit. And that's on top of getting close to finding Chuck's ring. Or rather the blueprints. We think it's some sort of device he was working on and that it must be one of his old databases somewhere, so all we've got to do is hack into the right one and go from there. And never mind having a shot at finding Sally's father.

We've also got some intel on Robotropolis and some of what Eggman's been working on, though far from everything. But we've got enough to start locating the generator for the city's shield and beat the crap out of it. We're still not sure who's sending the intel, but we can't afford to pass it up. Or so Sally says.

But me? Honestly, when I first heard the news, I didn't really know what to think. I wanted to keep on helping, I really did. Especially since it seemed like there was finally an end goal, you know? But I wasn't really sure what I could do. I wasn't all that helpful against Shortfuse, that was for sure. I mean, everyone else was doing their part, Shortfuse was taken over by some killer AI, and everyone was on the ropes. But I didn't even make a dent. All things considered, I was pretty useless.

Thinking about it, fighting wasn't my real passion anyway, you know? As far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to sing. And when I got old enough, I wanted to write. Being the second fastest thing alive was never really something I asked for. Though I still loved it anyway. Still do. Just being able to run circles around an entire city, to skip across the lake without a care in the world? I wouldn't give that up for anything. But I don't love it as much as the other stuff.

Like I said, singing was always my real passion and it's always what I've been really good at. Sometimes I wondered about just sticking to that. About leaving all of this behind and helping out where I'm needed. Traveling the land and spreading my songs to whoever wanted to hear them, you know? And whoever needed to hear them most. Except I was stuck in some war that I wasn't even sure I deserved to be in. I just wasn't sure what I was gonna do.

I needed to talk with someone about all this. Someone I knew. Someone I could trust. And Manic and Sonia fit the bill. Ever since we've met, we've always gotten along great! I even managed to talk them into joining a band! I mean, it was never much of a band, but it was a band. And speaking of being a band, we were scheduled for some last minute practice in just a half hour. So there was nothing stopped me from just zipping on over and waiting for them to show up.

Or at least that's what I thought. Turns out there's all sorts of things that can get in your way when you're just running around. Like, say, a Mobian. I guess I was so lost in thought that I just didn't know where I was going. Next thing I knew, I'd just tripped over something or someone and we were tumbling through the forest like a giant tire! Lucky for us, all the leaves on the ground helped slow our momentum and give us some friction, eventually bringing us to a stop. Thank Gaea.

It was only when the two of us were finally sitting on the ground just trying to catch our breaths that I knew who I'd brought along for the ride. "Sacre bleu!" Antoine rubbed his blonde toupee as he tried to keep it on his head, moving it to the center whenever it showed any signs of falling to either the left or the right. "Mina, is it not? Please, ma'am, watch where you are going! I do not wish to be a coyote pancake!"

"Oh crap! Sorry!" Honestly, I was kinda embarrassed. Mostly because I just bowled someone over like a bowling ball. "Really, sorry about that! Mind if I help you up?" Sure enough, I stood up before he could blink and did just that.

"Thank you, Madam Mina. That said, may I inquire as to why you were in such a hurry that you did not bother to look where you were going? Or were you merely trying to ascertain how many people you nearly trampled over? Because you certainly trampled me."

I started to rub away some sweat from the fur on my forehead. Not that I needed to 'cause my fur would just soak it up anyway, but sometimes I just make things more complicated than they need to be, you know? "Sorry about that, really!"

"Please, there is no need to apologize! Besides, perhaps I should have been doing a better job of looking where I was going. It is just that there has been so much on my mind."

"Oh. Sorry."

"What did I say about apologies?"

"Oh, so— uh, I mean, yeah." In case you couldn't tell, I'm something of a people pleaser. Whether or not it's something that started recently or that's just how I've always been, I'm not really sure. Maybe a bit of both? "Uh, wanna talk about it?"

"I appreciate the thought, I truly do. Though I am not sure if there is much you can do to help." And yet he kept on talking anyway. I guess he just wanted to get it all out. "I am still shall we say conflicted over the loss of my father. It has actually been a few weeks since he has passed, but with all that has been going on, I have not had much time to mourn. And now that I at last have the leisure of doing so, I am not sure what to think."

"What's there to think about? He's your father. I mean unless he was some sort of abusive monster or anything—"

"Do not even dare suggest such a thing! My father was no saint, but he never once laid a hand on me outside of practice."

"Okay, okay! Sorry I asked." Truth was, I really was sorry. No sarcasm or anything whatsoever. Guess I really was a people pleaser.

"It is alright. The truth is in spite of that, he could still be stern. And frightening. Mostly frightening." Antoine began to shiver like he was in the freezing cold, though he did his best to cover it up. "He meant well. But there were times that he made me feel as though he did not want a coward for a son."

"Hey now! Don't go saying that! If he didn't want you as a son, he would've said so! Like, 'I have no son!', or something like that! Maybe?"

"Well, I am not saying that it was what he truly thought. I am only saying what he led me to believe. In fact, it was not until the…"

"Not until the what?" Antoine was starting to choke up, almost like he could barely think about what happened next. Like it was just too close or personal to share. Not that it stopped him from sharing it anyway.

"…until the last day that he spoke to me. I still remember what he told me. Almost as if it were yesterday."

' _But it is true that everyone is afraid of something, and has something that they need to overcome. For many people, this could be a struggle of infinite magnitude. But you, Antoine. You are not most people. You are a Coolette. As such, I am completely confident that you can find it in yourself to overcome your fears and become one of the greatest knights this Kingdom has ever seen.'_

"Those words stuck with me. And they showed me that despite how distant he may have seemed, he still truly believed in me. That is part of why I am not curled up in my cabin as we speak."

"Well, it seems like you've already got that part all figured out. There's something else bugging you, isn't there?"

Antoine's eyes started to well up with tears, though he did his best not to let it show. "As I said, he believed in me. He believed in me as much as a father could. And yet, I could not live up to his expectations."

"I don't know. Seems to me you're doing a pretty good job."

"A 'good job'? A good job?! I allowed my father to die! How is that a good job?!" And then the floodgates opened wide. Honestly, looking back, I should've known what Antoine's problem was. It was staring me right in the face. But I was too wrapped up in my own stuff to see it. Kind of makes me feel terrible thinking about it.

"Whoa, hey, I'm sorry, really! I didn't mean to upset you or anything! But, uh, don't you think you're getting a bit too worked up about it?" Bad move. Again.

In any case, Antoine seemed about ready to rip me a new one. Not that I wouldn't deserve it. "'Worked up?!' My father is dead! And I am the one who is responsible! I let him die!"

"Okay, look! I said the wrong thing and I'm sorry, I really am! But you shouldn't just go beating yourself up about this! There wasn't really anything you could do, right? If you didn't deactivate the tracker, we all might've been dead by now! To be honest, if it was my dad, I don't know if I could've made that choice."

I guess for once in my life I managed to say the right thing after all. Whether I did or didn't, it must've done the trick, because Antoine was finally starting to calm down. "Perhaps. But it does not change what I have done."

"Maybe not, but there's still plenty you can do, you know? Besides, your father wanted you to be one of the best there was, right? And you can't really do that if you're dead. I think if he'd known what was gonna happen, he'd understand. But you're right about one thing. It doesn't change what you've done. So I guess you just need to think about what you're gonna do from here on out and what he'd want you to do rather than just moping about it, you know?"

Honestly, I probably could've said that better. But I guess it didn't matter. Not really sure why, but it seemed to get through. "You might have a point. What is done is done. So perhaps I should spend less time moping and more time thinking about how best to honor his memory."

On the inside I was breathing a sigh of relief. I guess I was just glad I didn't make him want to stab me with his sword or something. But also that maybe I wasn't a total screwup. "So we good?"

"You could say that. Thank you, Mina."

"Not a problem!"

"Although, it seems to me that you might have some problems of your own. If there is anything on your mind, I am more than willing to listen."

And now the shoe was on the other foot. To be honest, I really hadn't planned on talking with Antoine about, well, anything really. But I guess it would've just been rude to turn him down. So I talked. "Thanks. And yeah, I guess I do have a lot on my mind."

"Well? What is it that is bothering you? If you do not mind my asking?"

I sighed. Part of me still didn't really want to talk about it, but if he was gonna open up his soul, then I guess it'd only be fair to do the same. "It's, well, it's just that I've been here for a while now, you know? I've been trying to chip in, do my part, but I just don't know if it's been good enough. I wasn't any good when Shortfuse was on the fritz, that's for sure."

"Neither was I. In fact, I was not even there! At least you were able to be of use."

"Maybe, but I still don't think I was very useful. Plus, well, I'm just not sure if this is where I should really be. Or at least where I want to be."

"And where do you want to be?"

"I don't know. I guess what I really want to do is just make music, you know? Music that can make other people happy! I think that's what I'm really good at to be honest."

"Then why are you still here?"

That was the question, wasn't it? "Because I'm the second fastest thing alive, that's why. Or maybe third? Sonic and maybe that Swifty guy are the only others who have anything on me, but I'm still faster than just about anything else. And I think I'd just feel awful if I didn't stick with it when I know I could help!"

"What seems to be the problem then?"

"Well, I mean, it's just that fighting, beating up the bad guys? I know that there are so many other people suffering and that I should be doing what I can to help them because I've certainly got the power to do it. But sometimes I think I could be doing more with my music, you know? Cheering people up, inspiring them, doing something to make a difference in their lives. Whereas I couldn't do a thing against Shortfuse. Not without slicing him in half."

Antoine started pinching the bridge of his nose as I went on and on. I wasn't sure if he was starting to get bored or fed up or what. Or if maybe he just didn't care. "Perhaps. But let me ask you this. If Sonic were there and not you, what do you think he would have done?"

That was a good question. What would Sonic have done? For whatever reason, that wasn't something I'd really thought much about. But maybe I should've.

"Uh, well, maybe he could throw a rock at him or something?"

Antoine didn't have a word to say. Not that I could blame him.

"Yeah, that's pretty stupid isn't it?"

"If Sonic were in your position, he would probably have been in the same boat you were. The only way he would have been able to defeat him short of suicide was slicing him in two. And I am not sure if that is something Sonic would do." Looking back, he was right. This really was pretty stupid, wasn't it?

"Maybe not. But even then, I'm just not sure if this is the right place for me, you know?"

"You can still make music here, can you not? In fact, you are supposed to have your first concert here tonight."

"I know. But it's not like most people are gonna hear it."

"Then I can only see three possible paths for you to take. Either you continue helping out where you can and make music here in Knothole, or you abandon the rest of us and attempt to reach a larger audience."

None of those were very encouraging. At least to me. "And the third one?"

"The third being that you do the first, but leave Knothole after Eggman has been defeated and continue making music. Isn't that what you were doing before all of this started?"

"Maybe. But we don't even know if we can beat Eggman! I mean, what if we never break into Robotropolis? What if we never get past that forcefield? What if we—?"

Antoine suddenly started shivering again like a vibrator, though it didn't last long. Maybe he was getting better. "Please, Mina! You are going to give me a heart attack!"

"Sorry, Antoine. Still though, I just don't know if we're really gonna be able to do it. Sometimes it just seems impossible, you know? And even if it's not, I'm not really sure if I can make a difference."

"Neither am I. But I do know that there are people I must protect."

"Like Sally?"

"Of course. And perhaps one another." Then and there I wasn't sure just who he was referring to with that last one, but looking back, it's obvious it was Bunnie. Those two are pretty much inseparable at this point. Almost makes me wish I had a relationship like that. "As well as everyone in the Acorn Kingdom. I am a knight of the royal guard, even if there is currently not a royal guard to serve. And so I must do my duty as best I am able. What about you? Do you have anyone you wish to protect?"

For a while, I wasn't sure if I could give him an answer. To be honest, I didn't know if I even did have anyone to protect. I didn't have any real friends outside of Sonia and Manic, and they were fighting right alongside me. Both my parents were still overseas on vacation. Never had a boyfriend. Or maybe girlfriend? Still working that out. And I certainly wasn't part of the army. So what did I have to protect?

And that's when I suddenly realized that there was something to protect. "Honestly, I wasn't sure if there was anyone I wanted to protect, but I think there is. Like I said, I want to write music and sing. And I want everyone to be able to hear my music. But if Eggman gets his way, there might not be anyone left to listen to it. Or at least anyone who wants to. So I want to protect everyone here in the Acorn Kingdom and everywhere else. So that everyone can listen to my music. That's a bit selfish, isn't it?"

"Perhaps," said Antoine. "But if that is your reason, then that is all that matters."

"Thanks, Antoine."

"Only happy to help. Though if there is anything else bothering you, I would suggest talking to Councilor Rosie. She has been most—"

Suddenly Antoine stopped talking. His eyes sharpened and his ears pricked as he looked toward the bushes, almost like something was there. Course, I couldn't hear it at first. But as it got closer and closer, I could finally start to make something out. It sounded like a kid. A boy! And he was calling for help! "You hear that, Antoine?"

"Definitely, mon Cherie." His legs started knocking just slightly. Though you'd only notice if you'd been around Antoine for a while. If I hadn't known better, I'd say he was actually starting to be kinda courageous!

"If someone's in trouble, we've gotta protect them!"

"Indeed. But let us be cautious. Perhaps it is just me, but it seems awfully suspicious for someone to be wandering about in the middle of the forest. Especially with things as they are."

"Maybe. But if they really are in trouble, we can't just leave 'em. Come on, Antione!"

I took Antoine's hand and we rushed off towards wherever the voice was coming from. I barely blinked before we reached him. He was a bit old for a kid (thirteen maybe?), but still a kid. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a red and white sweater, and his brown hair was sticking out like a porcupine. But what really stuck out (and what really should've set off everyone's alarm bells) was that he wasn't Mobian. This kid? This kid was human.

That said, human or Mobian, he still needed our help. He was screaming at the top of his lungs as a motobug chased after him at top speed. There was no time to think. "Antoine!" I whirled Antoine around by the arm and flung him toward the motobug like a missile. Lucky for him he got the memo. His sword was outstretched right in front of him, and he sliced straight through that thing like chopping a coconut. He barely managed to stop his teeth from chattering, but he still managed to take it out in one shot.

We raced over to the kid. "Hey!" He tried to look around, but it was a bit late for that. Next thing he knew, he'd managed to slam face first into a tree! I dashed over, holding him in my arms before he hit the ground. "Careful there! You should really look where you're going, you know? Uh, what's your name?"

He was barely able to get a word out before he fell unconscious, but he was able to get out his name. "Chris…"

"We'd better get him back to Knothole," I said.

"Not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, but are you sure this is a good idea? Not many humans so much as set foot in Knothole, or even the Acorn Kingdom. And the last one that did—"

"Yeah, I know. But we can't just leave him here."

"Perhaps. But if we take him to Knothole, we will not be able to let him leave so easily."

"I know. But we don't really have a choice. For all we know, he might be hurt. Besides, I said I was going to protect people, and I still plan on doing just that."

"Fair enough. But do not blame me if this goes poorly." And with that, we were off. And all I could think to myself was that I really hoped Antoine wasn't right.


	61. Update 11-4-18

Hi, everyone! It's been a while, hasn't it? Anyway, in case you're wondering, no, Blue Horizon is _not_ dead. I've just been working on other things, is all. And after doing this for a year, I just needed a break. But now I'm ready to dive straight back into it. That said, there are still going to be times where there aren't any updates, maybe even for couple of months. I'm probaly going to be alternating between Blue Horizon and my other series (up on Fiction Press if you're interested), delivering regular updates for two or three months before switching to the other, and then switching again for another couple months. So on and so forth. So just keep that in mind. But as I've said before, I have every intention of finishing this. No matter how long that will be.

And of course, thanks everyone for sticking with me this far. I couldn't have gotten here with without you.


	62. New Arrival

"Gotta say, I've never seen anything like it. Though maybe it's because I've never looked over a human patient before."

Doctor Quack was standing in the middle of the Hospital Wing over one of the beds. Chris was lying fast asleep, almost like a baby. Though the fact that he just barely fit into a Mobian sized bed was something of a miracle. Mina and Antoine were there as well, and they had also brought Sally along for the ride. Mina wasn't sure about bringing her in, but Antoine insisted, and he was probably right. Cream also ended up tagging along, if only to make sure that Chris was alright. And that just left Quack trying his best to look after a patient he only had the vaguest idea of how to care for.

"Look," said Quack, "this kid was unconscious when you found him, right?"

"Yeah," said Mina. "Well, sort of. He was actually kind of running and screaming when we found him, but he passed out after that. I thought maybe it was due to exhaustion or an injury or something."

"If it were an injury, that would be something. But as far as I can tell, he hasn't got a scratch on him. In fact, there's no sign the kid's ever had a real injury. Hell, I'd say he's probably the healthiest patient I've ever seen. And I don't think it's just because he's human."

"Speaking of which," said Antoine, "we still need to decide what to do with him. He may only be a child, but he is still a child we know nothing about. Nevermind that he is human. Which itself is another problem altogether."

"I know." Sally scratched her head, trying her best to make heads or tails of it. "And even if he has a perfectly good reason to be here, we can't just let him go. Not unless we're certain that Eggman can't get our location out of him." She glared at Mina, even if only for the briefest of moments. She knew it wasn't her fault, nor that she could have just let him there. But still.

"Hey," said Mina, "I couldn't just leave him there!"

"I know," said Sally. She sighed as if doing her best to get her priorities in order. "If I'd been there, I probably would've done the same thing. But it still makes things that much more complicated."

"Indeed," said Antoine. "At this point, there are not many options available to us. One is that we take him away from the forest while he is unconscious and trust he is able to manage without our help. Another involves something so heinous that I will not even discuss it here."

Part of Mina knew just what Antoine was suggesting. "Hey, you don't mean—"

"As I said, that is not something I wish to discuss. And the third is to keep him here until Eggman is defeated. Whenever that may be."

"Honestly," said Sally, "I don't know if we really have a choice. We can't let him go, and we can't just leave him to fend for himself. For better or worse, we'll have to keep him here." This was true. On the one hand, they couldn't leave him out there to die, but neither could they risk Eggman getting everything he could out of him. At the end of the day, there wasn't much else they could do.

Cream tugged a tuft of fur on Sally's leg in an effort to get her attention. "Miss Sally, don't you think you're being a bit too hard on him? He didn't do anything wrong! Or at least he didn't mean to."

"I know, honey. I don't like it any more than you do. But we don't have a choice."

"Are you sure, ?"

"Positive. Even though I wish I weren't. Tell you what. If you want, I can have you look after him personally. Make sure he feels welcome here."

Cream's ears perked up at the news. "You mean it?"

"Positive. Whoever he is, he isn't a prisoner. So he still needs to be treated with respect. And maybe someone to keep him company. Preferably his own age or thereabouts."

Cream nearly jumped with joy at, only barely managing to restrain herself. "Oh, thank you, ! Thank you so much!"

Just as Sally was about to try and keep Cream from flying around the wing, a blue blur came bolting in. "Hey, Sal!" Sonic ran over to Sally, sending an updraft throughout the wing as he went. "Heard we got ourselves a new guest."

"Hey, Sonic. And yes we did." She gestured to Chris. She told him all about Chris and how they found him, and what they decided to do with him. "So for the moment, he'll be staying here."

"Tough break. Anyway, when you're done here, how about we head over to Mina's concert? Should be starting in a few hours."

"Oh crap, the concert!" Mina slapped herself on the forehead as though she had completely forgotten one of the most important moments of her life. "OhGaeahowcouldIforgetsorrySalIgottago!" One flash of yellow later and she was gone.

"Well," said Sally. "That was interesting. Anyway, Sonic, I'd love to. Normally I'd be a bit busy, but somehow I figured you'd ask. So I made sure everything else was taken care of."

"And if I didn't ask?"

"Then I'd ask first."

Sonic and Sally each took a step closer, as though there was slowly something building that neither could resist.

"Cool. And maybe after—"

Sally put a finger to Sonic's lips, though she couldn't keep herself from smiling as she did. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Daddy always said, 'Take things one step at a time.'"

"Well, I'm not your Dad, am I?"

"Good point.

Sonic and Sally started holding each other's hands, but before they could go any further, the boy began to rouse from his slumber. He groaned as he tossed and turned before slowly opening his eyes, blinking in wonderment at his surroundings. "Oh, Gaea. My head. What—"

"Easy, son." Doctor Quack held Chris' arm gently, easing him back down as he tried to get up. "Just take it slow."

Chris did his best to do what the Doctor ordered. He took a deep breath, taking a look around as he tried to make sense of it all. "Uh, this is gonna seem like a stupid question and maybe a bit offensive, but are you all Mobians?"

Sally took a step forward, doing her best to remember that this was a child who probably didn't know any better. Probably. "That's correct. I'm Sally, Princess of the Acorn Kingdom. Sort of." She held out her hand, offering it to Chris.

Chris seemed a bit hesitant at first (hiding something perhaps?) before taking her hand and slowly shaking it. "Chris. My name's Chris."

"Nice to meet you, Chris." She introduced him to everyone else in the room before telling him how they found him.

"A 'badnik?' What's a 'badnik'?"

"To be honest," said Sonic, "you're better off not knowing. Nasty little buggers. Though tearing them to shreds is still kinda fun."

Sally sat down on the bed next to Chris. "Chris, have you heard about anything that's been happening on this island for the last couple months?"

"Island? What island?"

Everyone gave each other a brief glance before Sally turned back to Chris. "Chris, you do know what island you're on, right?"

"Sorry. I don't really remember much of anything. Besides from maybe my name."

"Are you sure you do not remember a single thing?" said Antoine.

"Well, I remember what an island is. And I still remember all sorts of stuff. But I barely remember a thing about myself."

"Including how you got here."

"Right. Sorry."

Sally sighed. On top of possibly having to keep a kid hostage, she now might have been keeping hostage one with amnesia. She hoped if anyone was looking down on her from high that they wouldn't slap her in the Abyss for child abuse. Assuming he really did have amnesia.

"Sally," said Antoine, "can I speak with you for a moment?"

"Sure, Antonie," said Sally. "I'm sorry, Chris, but I need to speak with Antoine for a bit. I'll be back in just a minute." She got up from her bed and walked into the hallway outside the main wing with Antoine. Sonic tagged along, no doubt not wanting to be left out of the action. Quack also came along, evidently not wanting any decisions to be made about his patients without his say so.

"Cream," said Quack, "do you think you can wait here for a bit?"

"Not a problem, Mister Quack!"

"Thanks, kid." He turned towards Sally and the others, heading their way as they passed through the door to the hallway.

Much to Sally's surprise, Antoine was the first to voice his concerns."Do you not think this is the least bit, shall we say, fishy?"

"To be honest," said Sonic, "it is kinda convenient."

"Really convenient," said Sally. "Part of me wants to just take him at his word. Especially since he's still a child."

"Same here. But I'd be lyin' if I said everything added up."

"Indeed." Antoine straightened his toupee as though it were a force of habit. "First he appears right in the middle of this forest with a badnik hot on his trail. Then he becomes unconscious for no apparent reason at all. And now we are to believe he has simply lost his memory?"

"I know," said Sally. "It doesn't add up. But until we learn more, there's nothing we can do."

"Hey," said Sonic, "maybe you could have Ebony try and look at what's in there? Maybe jog his memory a bit?"

That wasn't a bad idea. "Maybe. Assuming Chris is telling the truth, she might be able to bring his memories straight to the surface."

"And if she is not," said Antoine, "we can still learn what he knows."

"Hey now," said Sonic. "I only brought it up because it didn't seem like there was any other way. If he doesn't really have amnesia, I don't wanna go digging through his memories without his say so. Not unless we don't have a choice. I certainly wouldn't want someone messin' with my noggin, that's for sure."

"Well," said Sally, "we'll only have to resort to that if his memories don't come back on their own. Or if it becomes clear he's not telling the truth. For now, we'll keep tabs. Cream's already looking after him, but the rest of us can keep an eye on him whenever we're around. Just try and make sure he doesn't catch on."

"Of course." Antoine bowed, making his intentions and sense of duty clear.

"No problem!" said Sonic.

"Hey now," said Quack. "Look, I get where you kids are coming from. I really do. In fact, part of me agrees. But at the end of the day, he's still my patient. And I'm not going to just let you dig into his mind unless there's a damn good reason for it."

"Believe me, ," said Sally, "I don't want to have to resort to that any more than you do. But depending on how things go, we may not have much choice."

"And just how do you think things are gonna go? He's a kid with amnesia. At least as far as we can tell. Even if there's something funny going on, there's not really much he can do right now, is there? Look, you want to keep tabs on him, fine. But unless I give the okay, his brain's off limits. Understand me?"

Sally almost started to question him, but at the end of the day, this was still his medical wing. And he did have a point. "Understood. Anyway, we'd better be heading back in."

The three of them headed back into the wing. Cream had been talking to Chris, doing her best to keep him occupied.

"…and and lived happily ever after. Well, until the war of the Bippity Boppity's, but I don't care much for that part." Her ears picked up as she noticed Sally and the others entering the room, and she turned to face them. "Oh, ! That didn't take long!"

"Hey, kid," said Quack. "Thanks for keeping him company." He turned to Chris. "So. Aside from your memory, everything else looks fine. Normally this would be when I'd throw you out, but from what I can tell, your memory's still kaput."

"Uh, yeah. Still can't remember much of anything. Sometimes I feel like there's something there, close enough I can touch it. But it goes away as soon as I start reaching."

"Maybe you've got something on you that can help jog your memory? A notebook, maybe some ID?"

Chris checked his pockets. There was a small notebook in his right pocket, small enough to fit in his hands. "Huh. What do you know?"

Cream flew up on Cris's bed, peering over his shoulder at the notebook. "Oh! Maybe whatever's in there could help you remember how you got here! Or at least give you a hint!"

Quack quickly shooed Cream off the bed. To be fair, Sally probably would have done the same. "Hey! No jumping on patient's beds in the medical wing! Or flying. Or whatever."

"Sorry, !" Cream floated off the bed, her large floppy ears trailing behind her.

As Chris thumbed through the journal, Sally glanced at the clock up above. It was now 4:30 PM. Which coincidentally was just ten minutes away from Cream's next appointment with Rosie. "Cream, aren't you forgetting something?"

"Hm?" Sally gestured toward the clock. As soon as Cream saw it, she knew just what she was referring to. "Oh." She slowly looked down at her hands and opened her palms, almost as though she were reliving something she wanted more than anything to forget. Sally couldn't be sure what was flashing through Cream's mind, but she had a pretty good idea. Specifically hitting Shortfuse a couple weeks ago. For anyone else it wouldn't have been that big a deal, but for Cream? Not so much.

"Sorry," she said. She turned to Chris. "I'll be back later, okay?" She hurried off, jetting past the others with Cheese hovering right behind.

"Uh, okay," said Chris. "See you later!" He went back to thumbing through the journal, skipping ahead to the most recent entry. And it seemed to be what he was looking for. "Hey, I think I got something! Let's see here. 'October 31st. Finally got to South Westside Island with my dad. It's cool I guess. I mean, I didn't really want to come, but my Dad was working on some big research project or something and couldn't get someone to watch over me, so I guess I didn't have a choice. Eh, who knows? Maybe it'll be fun.' I think that's it.

Sally quickly noticed something was off, as did Antoine judging by his expression. But before they could open their mouths, Quack did so first. "That ring any bells?"

"Nope. Sorry."

"Hm. Well, I don't know what to tell you. I guess we can try some more advanced techniques, but if reading your own journal doesn't help, then it's gonna be a while before we can make any headway. Still, least you've got some idea of what you were doing before you got here."

"I guess. Still doesn't feel like it, though. It's like I'm reading someone else's journal, someone else's life. If that makes any sense."

At this point, Sally still wasn't sure whether or not Chris was the telling the truth, but for now, that didn't matter. If he did turn out to be some sort of mole or agent for Eggman, then they'd deal with him when the time came. But for now, he was an innocent boy who couldn't remember anything but his own name. She still needed to consider he was more than that, but for now, he was in her care. "I'm sorry, Chris. For what it's worth, we'll do whatever we can to get your memories back. But until you do, we're going to need you to stay here."

Chris chuckled. "Fine by me. It's not like I've got anywhere else to go anyway. Or at least anything I remember."

"Hey," said Sonic, "no big deal. All that matters is who you are now. Everything else is just window dressing.

"Well," said Quack, "from the looks of things, it doesn't seem like you're going to get your memories back anytime soon. Sorry about that. But we'll still try to help you however we can. In the meantime, if you're up for it, you might want to take a walk. Stretch your legs some. Better than sitting around here all day."

"Uh, maybe." Chris slowly looked around, still trying to take it all in. "I mean, everything here's new to me. Especially with amnesia. I don't really know where to start."

At that, Sally stepped in. Until the truth came out, she'd still try to help him however she could. Even if there was a chance she'd regret it later. "Don't worry too much about. For now, take it easy. You can take a look around whenever you're ready. And I'm pretty sure Cream will be more than willing to help you when you are." She winked. Chris didn't seem to know what Sally was getting at, though maybe it was better that way. After all, it didn't take a genius to tell that Cream had already taken a liking to him. Even if she didn't quite realize it herself.

"Uh, sure. I guess."

"Actually," said Sonic, "I've got a better idea. We're actually havin' a concert tonight. No reason you can't come along! At least if you're up for it."

Sally wished she had thought of it first. "Actually, that isn't a bad idea. And I'm sure Cream would be more than willing to go with you."

Antoine briefly rolled his eyes at Sally, no doubt indicating that he did in fact think it was a bad idea. To be fair, he had a point. If Chris wasn't who he said he was, then letting him wander freely around the camp, even a part of it, could spell disaster. And yet, she couldn't treat him as anything more than he seemed to be. Not until she was sure. Besides, with any luck, Cream would be watching over him. She didn't want to put anything more on her than she already had, but with any luck, she wouldn't have to tell her a thing."

As for Chris, he seemed to be on-board. "Sure! Always wanted to see a concert. I mean, I probably have. Not that I remember or anything."

"Hey," said Sonic, "it's cool. You just sit tight and we'll get you when the concert's ready. Shouldn't be more than a few hours. Till then, take it easy, 'kay?"

"Okay, I guess. Thanks. Really."

"No problem!" Sonic waved goodbye as he started to head off, with Sally and Antoine following suit.

"Again, let us know if you need anything," said Sally. "And don't go wandering off without someone accompanying you. Understood?" Chris nodded, reassuring Sally that he got the message. As for Antoine, he gave Chris one brief glare, likely still having misgivings.

The three of them walked back out of the hospital wing, now with more questions than they had answers. "So," she said. "What do we think?"

"In all honesty," said Antoine, "I still have my doubt. That journal entry does not make much sense. It gives us the bare minimum, leaving out many important details. Why did his father choose South Westside Island for his research? How exactly did they get to South Westside Island? And just what happened to his father?"

"Hey," said Sonic, "ease up a bit, will ya? Yeah, I know, not everything adds up. But there's every chance he could be who he says he is. Besides, for all we know, Eggman's bots could've gotten his Dad soon as he showed up. Maybe it was too much for him to take or maybe they did something to him and that's why he doesn't remember. I mean, if I was his age and I lost Chuck…" Sonic's eyes started to mist up. No doubt it was due to bringing up Chuck. He quickly wiped it away. "The point is, things happen. We shouldn't just let him do whatever he wants, but we shouldn't be treating him like he's guilty when we still don't know for sure."

"I agree," said Sally. "For now we'll assume he's telling the truth, but we'll still keep tabs on him 24/7. I'll also ask if he knows anything."

Antoine's eyes lit up. From what Sally could tell, he had entirely forgotten about Acubus. "Sacrebleau! I completely forgot!"

"Same," said Sonic. "We've still got him locked up in the brig, right?"

"Right," said Sally. "Actually, there are a number of things I want to ask him. Chances are he knows more than just about anyone else we could've got, seeing as he's a scientist. And call it a hunch, but I think Eggman might be more willing to confide in a fellow scientist than anyone else. Point being that if this is somehow some crazy scheme of Eggman's, he'll probably know something."

"Sounds good! That said, you don't gotta do it now, do ya? Seeing as we kinda have plans."

Well. This was a conundrum. On the one hand, seeing if Acubus knew anything was a priority. She supposed she could have someone else do it, but she would prefer to do it herself. And yet, it wasn't every day that she could see a concert or really do much of anything with Sonic. And lately, Sonic was starting to mean a good deal more to her than just a friend. So the question was, was she going to choose something she had to do but could wait, or something she didn't have to but couldn't?"

She smiled. She had made her choice. Perhaps if she knew there would be another chance, or if she and Sonic had only just started getting closer, she might have stood him up. But instead, she chose the latter. "Don't worry about it, Sonic. I'll get someone else to interrogate Accubus. Or I'll just wait until tomorrow. Either way, he can keep."

"If you wish," said Antoine, "I can interrogate him in your place. After all, it is something I have been trained for. Though I still do not know what you see in that arrogant, sanctimonious—"

Sally put a stop to Antoine's incoming outburst before it began. "Thank you, Antoine! Don't worry, I'll sure you'll do fine." She turned back to Sonic. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, don't worry. It's cool. So, you wanna get somethin' to eat before headin' on over?"

"Sure. Like I said, I made sure everything else was taken care of just so we'd have all the time we'd want to enjoy ourselves."

"Coolness. Ya know, there aren't a lot of people I'd stop and slow down for for something like this. Hell, you're really the only one."

"Well, I could say the same. Just another thing we have in common. Anyway, shall we be going?"

"You bet." And in one flash of blue, Sally and Sonic were off. Leaving Antoine to grumble as he was left behind on his lonesome. Still, it wasn't that bad. He took out a photo from his belt. It had been taken just a week ago. He and Bunnie were sitting on the top of a large tree overlooking as much of Knothole as possible. He smiled. He slowly put away the photo and walked off. Maybe Sally did have someone special now, but so did he. Which was something he never would have thought possible.

What a time to be alive.


	63. Sargent Sonic's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sonic tapped his foot like a jackhammer and looked at his watch as he waited outside Sally's house. She had told him that she wanted to freshen up before they went to see the concert, and while he didn't like to wait, he was willing to do it for her. However, it had now been half an hour after she had him bring her here and only twenty minutes before the concert started, and she still hadn't come out. He wasn't going to bail, but hell if it didn't piss him off. "Come on, Sal'! What's taking so long?"

Just as he reached for the doorknob, the door finally opened. Sally stood in the doorway. She was wearing a sparkling blue dress and a pair of high heels. She wasn't wearing any makeup if only because that would've stained her fur, but her hair was combed and permed to perfection. In short, she was gorgeous.

Sonic's jaw dropped. He didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't this. And yet he didn't really mind. In fact, he actually sort of liked her like this. "Uh, well. This is new."

Sally was actually surprised. And the slightest bit nervous. "You like it? I wasn't sure if you would."

"Like it? I love it! I mean, uh, it's not bad." He winced as he realized he had just shot himself in the foot. To be fair, it wasn't as though he had ever been in a relationship. Though to be honest, he had always been too in love with himself to even think of being in one. Sally was the first and so far only person he had ever considered being with. Which meant that when it came to the matters of the heart, it was like being adrift at sea. In other words, he didn't have a damn clue.

"Thanks." Sally didn't seem too put off by Sonic's self-sabotage, though perhaps it was because this was her first time too. "You can thank Cream's mom for the dress. She just happened to have some old clothes lying around. Since she wasn't using them, she didn't mind if I took them off her hands. And Bunnie gave me some pointers on hair styling. She would've done it herself, but she was getting herself ready too."

"Neat. Still kinda surprised she and Antoine are a thing."

"Same here. Before all this started, I wasn't sure Antoine would ever get together with anyone, much less Bunnie. In fact, I knew both of them for years and never once considered it. And just look at them now."

"Yeah. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?"

"It does at that." The two slowly started to move closer, their eyelids lowering as they began to feel an irresistible attraction. But it wasn't irresistible enough. Not yet. Before they could go any further, the two of them pulled themselves out of their stupor, awkwardly looking aside as though they'd nearly gotten away with themselves. "Uh, anyway, shouldn't we get going? The concert should be starting any minute."

"Yeah. Uh, that said…"

"Something up?"

Sonic scratched his head. Usually he wouldn't have had a problem with this, but as he was starting to learn, being in a relationship tended to make you that much more considerate. "Well, it's Tails."

"What about him?"

"Well, lately he's been kind of down, ya know? Problem is, he won't really open up about it. Every time I try and ask him, he either starts working on some gadget or doohickey or flies off to only Gaea knows where. I tried everything, but I just didn't know what to do. So…"

Sonic didn't have to bother explaining the rest. Sally pinched her brow, mildly sighing in frustration. "You invited Tails to the concert, didn't you?"

"Hey, don't worry about it! He isn't gonna get in the way, promise! 'Sides, he mostly keeps to himself. But I figured maybe taking him to something like this and spending some time together might get him to loosen up a bit."

Sally shook her head and sighed, but at the very least, she seemed to understand. "Don't worry, Sonic. It's fine. I would've just appreciated it if you told me first."

"Sorry, Sal. But it was kinda short notice. Anyway, let's get goin'!"

"Right." She held out her hand, giving Sonic the invitation to sweep her off her feet. He grabbed her by the palm and took off like a speeding bullet. And off they went.

* * *

A small crowd was sitting atop stumps and logs in the middle of a field. Before them was a large stage, adorned with a simple if elegant purple curtain. It covered the entire stage, obscuring it from view until the performers were ready. Of course, it wasn't as though it was that large a crowd. The only attendees were those already in Knothole, which wasn't a lot. Still, it wasn't like they had much else to do until the concert started proper.

As the crowd continued waiting for the concert to start, they could hear something in the distance. Namely a rapid pattering of feet that almost sounded like a motorcycle, coming straight their way. Before they could get a good look, it was already there. Sonic sped into the field with Sally and Tails in tow, slowing down before he released his grip. "Made it! Woot!"

Sally forced down her dress, still floating in the breeze caused by Sonic's tailwind. "Right. I guess for now we just take a seat and wait for it to start."

"Cool. That okay with you, Tails? Tails?" Sonic looked toward Tails, but he wasn't answering. Instead he was looking at the stage, almost as though in another world. "Tails?" It was only saying his name a third time that Tails finally noticed Sonic was even there. Even still, his eyes were distant and unfocused, his mind on something else altogether. "Uh, yeah, sure. Sorry, Sonic."

"Hey, you sure you're okay, lil' bro?"

"Don't worry, Sonic, I'm fine. Really."

Sonic wasn't the most sensitive guy, but even he could see that Tails was anything but fine. He wasn't sure what was eating Tails, but whatever it was, he had to know. And apparently, he wasn't the only one. Sally walked forward, leaning down as she tried to dig a bit deeper. "Tails, if something is bothering you, you know you can tell us. Whatever it is, we'll understand."

Tails' eyes widened, his mind no doubt whirring as it considered Sally's offer. "Promise?"

"Promise."

Tails stood there for a moment as if paralyzed, his mouth shut. And then, hugging Sally, tears streaming from his eyes, it all came out. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it. I didn't want it to happen! And now, now—"

"Whoa, hey!" said Sonic. "Time out, lil' bro! What's wrong?"

Tails tried to calm him down as best he could, but judging by the tears trickling down his face, it wasn't working. "I-I'm sorry, Sonic. I just can't!" With one flick of his tails, he flew off, soaring into the distance as a stream of tears trailed behind in his wake.

"Damn!" Sonic started getting into gear, ready to follow after his lil' bro and try to figure out what was going on. "Sorry, Sal. I gotta go after him! He's my lil' bro!"

Sally sighed, but she wasn't going to stop him. "I know. If you want any help—"

"Sorry, Sal, but this is between bros. Don't worry, shouldn't be gone long. If I know Tails, this isn't bothering him as much as he's letting on. He's not really the type to go flying off for no good reason."

"I don't know about that. Sonic, I know you mean well, but how much do you really know Tails?"

The hell was that supposed to mean? "He's my lil' bro. That's all I need to know."

"From what you told me, he's only your 'lil bro' because you decided to call him that on a whim. How much do the two of you really know about one another? How often have you done anything together? How well do you truly know each other? Sonic, I know you mean well, but maybe you're not the best person to deal with Tails despite what you may think."

Sonic was starting to get livid. Tails was his lil' bro. He was Tails' big bro. That was enough. Wasn't it? "We'll talk about this later. Right now, I gotta find him. We'll talk later, kay'?" And he was off.

* * *

Tails had managed to get a head start, but it wasn't long before Sonic tracked him down to the workshop. The door was open, almost as if Tails wanted someone to come after him despite himself. He was standing in front of the workbench, a series of blueprints for a crystal of some sort laid out upon it.

In any case, none of that mattered, not now. Or at least that's what he told himself. And yet, he couldn't get Sally's words out of his mind. He thought he knew all there was to know about Tails. And vice-versa. And that was all that mattered. But was it really?

"Found ya, lil' bro," said Sonic. "Took a bit, but nothin' gets past the fastest thing alive. Anyway, somethin' bothering you?"

Tails' hands were laid flat on the blueprint, his back facing the doorway. "Go away."

"Hey, lil' bro—"

"Stop it! Stop it." Tails turned to face Sonic. The tears had stopped flowing, but his eyes were still misty, as though he couldn't stop it no matter how hard he tried. "How can you still call me that? After what I did?"

Sonic was starting to get confused. "Did? Did what?"

Tails seized the blueprint and held it out. "These are the blueprints for the crystal. The one I gave to Sonia. The one that turned her into some sort of energy thing! That's what I did. I turned your cousin into some sort of freak! All because I couldn't figure out a way to test it."

Oh. Truth be told, with everything going on, it had completely slipped Sonic's mind. He knew Sonia had been turned into some sort of energy being, but he figured it wasn't that big a deal. "Well, hey, I mean, I know you messed up, but things happen. Sides, it's not like it's permanent or anything. I figured once she got a handle on it, she could turn herself back easy-peasy. No harm done."

The mist in Tails' eyes started to clear, replaced with a slow rising anger. "'No harm done'? 'Turn herself back'? Sonic, I've been trying to figure out a way to change her back ever since it happened. And do you know what I found? Nothing. I've tried everything I can think of. And nothing's worked! She's stuck like this. And you're still gonna forgive me?"

For a moment, Sonic was in shock. Truth be told, maybe he hadn't given Sonia's predicament as much thought as he should have. Perhaps he wasn't attentive as could have been. But he still thought that as long as there was a way to get her back to normal, there was no harm done. But for the briefest of moments, it suddenly seemed that there wasn't a way. And in that moment, Sonic was speechless.

And then it hit him.

"Wait wait wait a minute. You're sure you tried everything?"

"Yes! I've tried creating a new crystal, altering the energy flow, reversing the polarity, everything! But nothing's worked."

"Did you try magic?"

Tails blinked, almost as if he hadn't heard it. "What?"

"You know, magic. I mean, we've got a magician in the next house over. If you couldn't figure out a way to get Sonia back to normal, maybe she could. And from what I've seen, she's the real deal. So did you even think about asking her?"

"Uh, no. Not really. I mean, I didn't even think magic was real until we met her."

"Same. But hey, we learn something new every day."

Tails seemed a bit more relieved, though his voice was still quivering. "Still though. I did that to her. To your cousin. And you're still gonna forgive me?"

"Hey, I'm not gonna say what you did was okay. Then again, if it were me, I probably would've done the same thing. So I'm not really one to judge. And as for Sonia, I know it's gotta be hell for her. But I also know you didn't mean for it to happen. Long as you know you messed up and as long as you're trying to fix it, it's all good."

Tails wiped away the last of the tears in his eyes, his voice regaining some of its' confidence. "Thanks, Sonic. That said, what if it happens again? What if I try making an experimental laser or some sort of forcefield or something and something happens that I can't undo? What if I make a mistake? Because if something like what happened to Sonia happens again, I'm not sure what I'll do."

"Hey, whatever happens, happens. Long as you learn from it, that's what matters. Take it from someone who knows."

"Thanks." Tails jumped and gave Sonic a hug. Sonic froze, unsure if he'd ever let go. After a moment, he finally released his arms and used his tails to float back to the ground. "You know, you're starting to really sound like a big bro."

"Well, let's just say someone told me I wasn't doing the best job. But as long as I'm your big bro, I'm gonna act like it. We cool?"

"Yeah. We're cool. Thanks, big bro."

"No problem. Anyway, still wanna see the concert?"

"Uh, sorry, but I think I'll have to pass. There's something I've got to do."

Sonic nearly tried to drag him over to the concert, but his brain put two and two together. "You're gonna ask Ebony if she can change Sonia back."

"Yeah. It's worth a try."

"Okay then. You do what you want. Besides, if you were there, Sonia would probably strangle ya. Pretty sure she still ain't over that."

"Yeah. Well, thanks, Sonic. See you soon." Tails darted out of the lab and flew over to Ebony's house. Hopefully she'd be able to help. In the meantime, Sonic still had a concert to attend.

* * *

Sonic dashed back over to the concert and Sally as quick as he could. Lucky for him, it still had yet to start. He really was the fastest thing alive. Sally had been tapping her foot as she waited for Sonic to get back but got up off her log once she noticed his arrival. "How it'd go?"

"Great! I think. He's still a bit bummed over what happened to Sonia, but I think we worked it out."

"Is that so? I guess I should've had a bit more confidence."

"Well, you kinda had a point. Maybe I wasn't the best big bro. And maybe I should've noticed somethin' was going on sooner. But I think he's gonna be okay now."

"Good to hear. Though I wish I could say the same for Sonia. I'm pretty sure she still wants to strangle him."

"Yeah. Maybe I should try and talk to her after the concert."

"Actually, about that." Sally pinched her brow, her eyelids starting to droop. "It's actually ten minutes after the concert was supposed to start."

"Come again?"

"You heard me. Everyone's been waiting for it to start, but it hasn't yet. And Chris still isn't here either."

"Crap. Tell ya what. You check on Chris. I'll see how Sonia and the others are doing. See ya soon!" And before Sally could so much as argue, he was off. Again. Sally had to wonder if this would prove to be a sustainable relationship.

* * *

"Hey, Sonia, everything goin' the hell?!"

Sonic zipped out of the way just in time as Sonia lodged a guitar straight at his head. Or rather in his general direction. "Fucking damn it!" Apparently she was having a tantrum. She seized another guitar and started trying to trash the entire set like a raving lunatic. The set itself wasn't much. It was a keyboard, a guitar and a set of drums and cymbals on a wooden stage, which was about all they could do when stuck in the middle of the woods with virtually no income. Which made it all the more important that it was kept intact as much as possible.

"Whoa, hey!" Mina had been practicing on her guitar but zipped in front of Sonia in an attempt to get her to calm herself. "Just take it easy, Sonia, 'kay? I mean, whatever's bugging you, you know you can talk to us, right?"

"Yeah, cuz." Manic took a moment to place a protective barrier around the set just in case. "Whatever's happening, you know we've got your back."

Much to their relief, whatever they did seemed to have worked. Sonia's grip started to weaken, her fierce stare losing its' intensity as she slowly regained her cool. "Mina? Manic? The hell happened?" She looked around the set, no doubt wondering what she had done or tried to do. And then she saw Sonic. Took her long enough. Not that Sonic should have been so flippant, but as soon as she laid eyes on him, her eyes were filled with absolute horror.

"Oh Gaea, Sonic, I'm so sorry! You okay? You're not missing a quill, are you?"

Sonic stepped forward, letting Sonia know there was nothing to worry about. Mostly. He had worried about losing his neck, but that was all in the past. "Hey, don't worry about it! We're cool. 'Sides, I'm more worried about you just now than anything. The hell were you doin' back there?"

Sonia briefly drew a blank before surveying the attempted destruction. "Oh. That. Yeah, I guess I went a bit crazy. We were all set to play, but right before we did, I guess something snapped."

She looked down at her hands. They were still made out of pink and purple energy, much like the rest of her. "It's already been a few weeks, you know? And I'm still some sort of freak. And it's not just cause I look like one because at least that would be bearable. I can't eat. I can't sleep. I can't breathe, I can't feel, I can't do anything! Well, okay, that's not true. I can still pick up things. I can still do things. And thank Gaea for that. But it's like I'm stuck in a really bad dream that I can't wake up from. And I just don't know what to do."

She briefly looked toward Sonic before looking back down at her hands, squeezing them as if crushing a diamond. "Well, okay. There is one thing I know I've gotta do. And that's crushing that damn fox! What the hell was he even thinking?! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't be a fucking freak!"

Sonic sympathized with Sonia, he truly did. Though maybe it was more because she was his cousin. But that didn't mean she could go crapping on Tails willy-nilly. Especially before she even heard his side of things. "Hey, I get where you're coming from, Sonia. I really do. But—"

Bad move. "How the hell are you supposed to get where I'm coming from?! At least you're still a fucking hedgehog! Me?! Not so much."

"Like I said, Sonia, I get where you're coming from. Things didn't work out. You're hurt, you're lost, you're confused, so you're taking it out on others. I've been there. But this isn't the way to do it. Sides, you think Tails is doing any better? It's not like he wanted anything to happen to you. Yeah, sure, he could've tried testing it a bit more or maybe come up with other some way to do it. Probably should've. But it ain't like he woke up out of bed one morning and thought, 'I need to make Sonia's life a living hell!" Crap just happened. Like it always does. Which is something I've had to learn the hard way."

Hearing how Sonic's own life was fairly shite finally got Sonia to start calming down. She tried to breathe deep before starkly remembering she couldn't, and it was only an immense amount of self-control that prevented her from trying to once again smash apart the set. "Maybe you're right. You've been through a lot too, huh?"

"Well, it ain't the same as getting turned into some energy being or whatever, that's for sure. All the same though, yeah, I guess. That said, I've tried my best to just keep on doing what I've always done. And that's moving forward. Sometimes it takes me a bit longer to start revvin' up, and every now and then I need someone talkin' some sense into me. But when push comes to shove, I always move forward. And I've stopped blaming others for things they didn't do. Or for making a mistake. Cause that's all I can do."

Sonic hoped his words were able to get through to her. He never thought of himself as much of a motivator. Not before today. But he guessed it was true what they said: 'War changes people.' In any case, he still wasn't an expert on that sort of thing. But perhaps he could still talk some sense into her.

"Maybe you're right. It's just that, well, I wasn't counting on this to happen. Hell, I wasn't counting on any of this to happen! Stuck in the middle of nowhere, fighting for our lives, and now this! Sometimes I don't even know why we're here."

At that, Mina finally decided to step in. "Uh, well, ya know, I didn't really sign on for this either. I mean, I was just trying to do what I could, ya know? It just kinda happened. But until Eggman gets taken down, it's what we're stuck with."

"Yeah, I know. I think." Sonia looked down at her hands. After a moment, she gripped them firm as though she had finally made up her mind. "Maybe this is just something I'll have to learn to live with."

"Maybe. Then again…" Sonic felt this was finally the proper occasion to tell Sonia what he told Tails. Namely using magic to fix her condition or at least make it bearable. Soon as he did, she slapped herself square in the face, not that she could feel it.

"The hell didn't I think of that?!"

"Hey, I only thought of it five minutes ago. Either way, if there's a way to change you back, Ebony can probably do it. And if she can't, it ain't like you're any worse off."

"You know, this might actually work!"

"Hey, that's the spirit. Never know till you try, huh?"

Sonia then leaned forward and gave Sonic the hug of his life, squeezing him out of gratitude. Sonic nearly keeled over out of a lack of air, but she released him just before it was truly an issue. "Thanks, cuz. For a while there, I was sure I was gonna be stuck like this. But now, well, maybe there's a way out!"

"Hey, don't thank me yet. We still gotta see if this'll work first. Which comin' from me is pretty hilarious."

"Yeah, I know. That said, it's a step up from where I was ten minutes ago. Her eyes dimmed as if full of remorse. "That said, I don't know if I can forgive Tails that easily. Maybe he didn't mean it, maybe he's still a kid, but he still did this to me. Even if I get back to normal, that ain't gonna change."

"Hey," said Manic, "the guy's trying, you know? Plus he's still only, what, 12? I'd be lying if I said I didn't completely blame him, but still."

Sonia sighed as if she were finally accepting that she couldn't fully hold a twelve year old responsible for this sort of thing. Even if only reluctantly. "Maybe. Look, if Ebony can really get me back to normal, then maybe I can start easing up on him. And I guess he didn't mean for any of this to happen."

"So," said Sonic, "we good? Cause I'm pretty sure you've still got a concert to do."

Sonia blinked for a moment before she was filled with the crushing weight of dawning realization. "Oh crap!" She peeked out behind the curtain before hiding back behind it. "Thank Gaea, they're still there!" She briefly turned into a laser and zipped over to her keyboard, the very act becoming ever more natural to her. Even if she had yet to realize it.

"For now," said Manic. "Anyway, we'd better start ASAP."

"Right." Mina strapped on her guitar and looked over her mike, making sure everything was absolutely perfect. "Kay. I think we're ready to go! Thanks, Sonic."

"Hey, no problem! Just tryin' to help my cuz." And trying to get the show going for his kinda-sorta girlfriend, but they didn't need to know that. He zipped off stage and back toward Sally. She was still there, if a bit flustered. But if he knew Sally, then he also knew she'd understand. "I'm back! Think they've got it covered now."

"Good. It was about Tails, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, sorta. But I think we managed to work it out. Anyway, should be startin' any minute."

"Thank Gaea. Anyway, I checked the infirmary. They're just a short walk away from here. And from what I could tell, Chris was already fast asleep."

"Oh. Well, that makes sense. He's still a kid."

"Right. And if he really does have amnesia, he's probably had a tough time dealing with it. Even if he isn't aware of it. Either way, I don't think he's coming."

Well. That sucked. "Dangnabbit. Guess I'll have to show him around another time."

"Well, it's not like he's going anywhere. You'll have plenty of time to do just that. We've still got a week before the next operation. With the militia handling the day to day battle against Eggman, we can afford to really hurt Eggman where it hurts. But we need to make sure we're absolutely ready before we do."

"And just where are we goin' anyway?"

"Glad you asked. It's the biggest place Eggman's got next to Mobotropolis."

At that, Sonic instantly knew what it was. It couldn't be anything else. "Chemical Plant Zone?"

"Not so loud! But yes. If we're going to make any real headway, we need to hit him where it hurts. Starting with that. If we can take it out, it's going to slow down his production output considerably, and also give us more time to figure out how to take down the forcefield. We're getting closer, but we're still not there. We need more time. And this should give us plenty."

"Sounds like you've got it all figured out."

Sally smiled. "I try. But hey, this isn't supposed to be about me. Or at least not just me. Besides, it can wait. Right now, we've got a concert to see."

"True that." Just as Sally and Sonic got ready to sit back and relax, the curtains finally opened. Manic was the same as ever, and Sonia was ready and raring to go. And Mina held the microphone and her guitar as if she were borne to them.

"Hey there, everyone! We ready to have some fun?" Compared to how she usually was, Mina was far more confident on stage than she was off. The crowd shouted back, making it clear they were here for the same purpose. "Good to know! Well, let's get ready to have some fun!" And as Mina belted out her first number, Sally and Sonic did just that, their hands touching one another on what would sure to be a night to remember.


	64. A Scourge to His Enemies, Part 1

_Hi, everyone! So as you may noticed, it's been a while since the last update. I know I said that I'd be doing updates on a more regular basis from now on, but that didn't really happen. So. No more promises. From here on out I will try and get new chapters out as often as I can, but there aren't always going to be garuntees. With that said, here's the chapter. Hope you enjoy it!_

* * *

"Grimer? Grimer? Come out, come out, wherever you are! Grimer! Confound him!"

Eggman had been marching through the halls of his base in Mobotropolis (or Robotropolis as he liked to call it,) a bit quicker than usual. He never walked around the base much, but when he did, he tended to take his time rather than act like a man on a mission. Take some time and ease up a bit. That said, this was not a day to ease up. Grimer was Eggman's loyal confidante, or at least he thought he was. But the sad truth was that lately, Grimer had been seen less and less. Eggman didn't have the slightest idea why, or at least that was what he told himself. But either he was oblivious or he didn't want to admit the truth that was staring him in the face.

It wasn't long before he arrived at the Control Room. Snively was sitting at the monitor as usual. For a moment, Eggman could have sworn he saw some sort of message up on the screen, but it was gone almost as soon as he came in. Assuming there even was such a message. Whatever. He could deal with that later. For now, he needed to find Grimer. And Snively may have been able to help with that.

He cleared his throat before addressing him, making sure he was loud and clear. "Good morning, Snively!"

Snively jumped up in his seat before turning around, silently grumbling and cursing as he saw his uncle. "Is it? I wouldn't know. I've been stuck here monitoring entire throngs of lifeless drones for so long that I've barely gotten a chance to do anything else. Not that there's anything to do in this bare-bones hovel."

Eggman glared at Snively like a beast contemplating his prey, if only briefly. Normally Eggman would have fired him if not do far worse for such a remark, but he needed someone to keep an eye on things while he headed the war against the natives. As inferior as they were to him, their tech was becoming less inferior by the day, and they had stronger numbers now that they were organised. As much as it pained him, Eggman couldn't do all this himself. Not without nuking the entire island, which would defeat the purpose. After all, there wouldn't be much point in conquering an island of radioactive ash, would there?

"Whatever. Do you know where Grimer's gone off to? I can't find him anywhere."

"That doesn't surprise me. You never were able to find so much as a needle in a haystack."

Eggman gnashed his teeth, clenching his fists as he did his best to keep himself in check. For the record, he could always find a needle in a haystack. Always! He just never had the chance to prove it. Regardless, he needed to find Grimer. While he was an expert in engineering and was reasonably proficient in most other fields, there were some things Grimer was better at. As much as he loathed to admit it. If it weren't for him, Project Thorndyke might never have gotten off the ground. Plus, he was the only friend he had. Or so he thought.

"Do you know where he is or don't you?"

"Probably." Snively smirked like a snake, seemingly delighting in making his uncle's face grow red with rage. To be fair, Eggman shouldn't have been surprised. Over the last several weeks, Snively had steadily been growing less and less loyal, and ever more contemptuous. If this kept up, Eggman supposed he'd have to do something about that sooner or later. But as long as he was still useful, that could keep.

"Then where is he?"

"If you must know, he was last seen heading toward the genetic testing centre. I'm not quite sure why. Though if I had to guess, I'd say it was so he could go somewhere quiet and have some peace. Gaea knows it's a seldom seen commodity around here."

Eggman had to keep himself from throttling Snively like a ragdoll. He stormed off, leaving Snively with the last laugh before he returned to watching over the monitors. Later, he told himself. Later. For now, Grimer was who he had to deal with.

* * *

Eggman soon made his way to the GTC or as it was otherwise known, the Genetic Testing Center. It was large and spacious, filled with various beakers and tubes containing all sorts of creatures and bulbous monstrosities. And yet in the middle of all that, there was one particular subject of note. It was contained within a large tube, floating within light blue fluids and hooked up to various cables and wires supporting it. The fluids partly obscured it, but it almost looked like a hedgehog of all things. Which was rather deliberate.

Standing in front of it was Grimer. He was holding a tablet, overlooking the specimen as he made various calculations. And all the better.

"Grimer! There you are!" Eggman stormed over to Grimer who didn't even bother to turn his head. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"Yes, I'm sure." Grimer continued going over his notes, not bothering to give Eggman the time of day. "Can't bother to look over your creations yourself, can you?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Just that you seem to expect me to wait on you hand and foot, no questions asked. And with nothing in return. Though I suppose I never should have expected anything less."

"And where did this come from?"

"I don't know. Perhaps it was when you threw one of your oldest and dearest friends into the Roboticizer without a second thought."

That was it? He was upset because he had taken care of an outdated nuisance that didn't know his place? That couldn't have been what this was about. "And your point is?"

Grimer turned around to face Eggman, his eyes barely hiding his contempt. "Do I need to say it?"

"Yes, I think that you do."

"Very well. Aside from the fact that doing such a thing goes beyond even my own worst inclinations, what's to stop you from doing it to me? To Snively? To anyone who doesn't so much as worship the very ground you walk on? Why, you might even roboticize them anyway because you'd think they'd serve the ground better as a footstool!"

Well, this was starting to get troublesome. "Now look here, Grimer. Just because I made Chuck into something more useful doesn't mean I'll do the same to you."

"This is not about whether or not I'm useful! This is about you not seeming to care about anything but what you want and how you can get it! Anything else might as well be a tool."

"Grimer, I don't think I like your tone."

"If that means you're actually listening to me, then I don't mind in the least.

Eggman was about to rip his not so faithful subordinate a new one when he heard something most peculiar. Both he and Grimer turned their heads toward the tube with the hedgehog-shaped subject as it began to emit a loud, shrill beep, just as a light at the top turned green. And that could only mean one thing: Project Hedgehog was at long last complete.

Project Hedgehog. When Eggman had first set his sights on South Westside Island, he never thought he'd have a need to start making clones wholesale, but he couldn't pass it up once he was presented with the perfect opportunity. As soon as he plucked those quills from Dingo's wounds back when all this started, and as he realised just how powerful that pesky blue hedgehog truly was, he knew that he now had the means to take his power and make it his own. Of course, he did have Swifty, but one never knew how long he was going to be content with the pay Eggman was giving him. He couldn't risk that he might one day turn on him. In a way, this was Swifty's eventual replacement.

Grimer rushed over to the controls, rapidly pushing buttons as he tried to release the subject before he awoke. "Well now. That was certainly sooner than anticipated."

"Don't waste words, Grimer! Just make sure he emerges safe and sound! I want my hedgehog!"

A few presses later and the deed was done. The liquid drained from the tube as a glass door slid open, the hedgehog slowly falling to the floor as the liquid disappeared from the chamber. Laying on the ground was a spitting replica of that thorn in Eggman's side. AKA Sonic the Hedgehog. Well, mostly. For the most part he was perfect, but there was one noticeable difference, and it was as plain as day. "Grimer?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Why is my hedgehog green?"

Grimer moved over to the hedgehog, taking a closer look as he attempted to puzzle out the difference in pigmentation. "Ah. I think I know the answer. You see, there wasn't enough material to make one whole hedgehog out of what you gave me. It was close, but there was just the slightest bit that was missing. And so I substituted the barest amount from Swifty. You have no idea how many scraps of DNA he leaves on the sofa. But seeing as he had the same powers as Sonic, he seemed like a decent fit. Though I suppose it also meant that the colour of our hedgehog's quills would follow suit."

Eggman would have been lying if he said he wasn't the slightest bit upset. After all, his precious creation had been tampered with behind his back. Then again, if what Grimer said was true, perhaps he didn't have a choice. Though he still would have liked to been consulted with first. He did like Grimer as an assistant, but if this kept up, he might have had to do something about him sooner than later.

"Whatever. Just as long as he isn't braindead." Suddenly, the hedgehog started to stir. Its fingers twitched as his eyelids opened and it groggily began to get on its' knees. "Ugh. The hell am I?"

"So glad you asked! My name is Eggman, and this is my faithful assistant Grimer! And we have a lot to talk about."

* * *

"Way past cool."

Sonic was standing atop the edge of a tall, jagged cliff. Below it was a vast complex that spanned at least several miles. Long grey tubes and yellow conveyors connected several towering green buildings, all plastered with Eggman's face, and transferred streams of blue and pink liquid between them. Pools of the stuff could be seen dotting the landscape as if there was so much of it that there wasn't enough room to properly store it all. Scores of Swatbots and Badniks patrolled the place, making sure no pesky intruders were making a nuisance of themselves. This was the Chemical Plant, and it was just as much of a hellhole and potential ecological disaster in the making as Sally described.

Standing next to him was Amy, though he was still somewhat taken aback by her change in wardrobe. Gone was the green dress she had worn when he first saw her. In its' place was a plain white t-shirt accompanied by a green plaid kilt below the waist. Her hair and face looked just a bit more plain and unkempt as well, as though she wasn't paying as much attention to the niceties. On top of that, while she still wore her crossbow on her back, she was now wielding a large red and yellow hammer. It was half was as large as she was, yet she was able to lift it with no trouble at all. It was light enough to carry, yet hard enough to pack a punch. Or least that was how Porker and Rotor described it.

"Gaea!" said Amy. "They weren't kidding, were they?"

"Not really, no." Tekno stepped forward, looking down at the plant as she brought a pair of sleek binoculars to her face. "This is without a doubt one of Eggman's most advanced creations. As well as one of his deadliest. Aside from providing the fuel necessary to power most of his creations, it could also be used for any number of chemical weapons. Which at the very least would be problematic."

"You got that right. If they ever manage to weaponise any of this, we might as well just bend over and let Eggman do whatever he wants. If he gets that off the ground, we're good as dead."

"Yeah." To be fair, Amy had a point. This did not look good. Even as fast as Sonic was, if their mission had been to destroy the plant, he wasn't sure if they'd have a chance. So he supposed it was a good thing that wasn't what they were there for. "This ain't cool."

Tekno pulled out a tablet from her satchel, tapping it as she browsed through various sheets of data. "Thankfully, Geoffrey was able to give us information to infiltrate the plant. With Chirps, Thunderbolt, and others serving as a distraction, we should be able to enter the plant undetected and shut it down. As well as prevent others from using it. As long as the plant is offline, they will be unable to produce any more chemicals, nor produce the material they need to weaponise it."

"Right," said Amy. "Shame we can't just blow it up though." A smile began to crop on her face as she casually mentioned blowing up an entire facility. Sonic never spent all that much time with Amy even after becoming friends, but he knew her well enough to know this didn't happen overnight. Ever since Uncle Chuck — in fact, perhaps ever since Amy got here — she had slowly become less fanciful and more grounded in reality. And yet, she never truly lost her sense of fun. In fact, now that she was getting used to this, she was starting to crack a smile even when Badniks were involved, almost as though this were a game to her. Not that it was, and she no doubt knew that perfectly well. But to see that little stalker go from that to his boss? That was something else. And yet, somehow he couldn't help but feel she was trying just a mite too hard. Or perhaps he was reaching.

"If we could, we would. As is, doing so would create an ecological disaster of catastrophic proportions. Shutting it down is the only way to keep it out of their hands without dooming the entire island. And us with it." As Tekno went on, she started looking further toward the plant, almost past it. As though she weren't even looking at it at all. "You probably do not know this, but I actually helped build this place."

Both Sonic and Amy nearly did a spit take. That couldn't have been right, could it? Then again, Tekno had worked for Eggman before this whole thing started. Before Eggman turned on her. They didn't want to believe it, but they couldn't deny the truth that was staring them in the face. "That's right," said Sonic. "Didn't you use to work for ol' Buttnick, before things started getting crazy?"

"Yes, I did. Of course, I had no idea just what sort of person he truly was. Or to what lengths he was willing to go to achieve his aims. If I had only known then, perhaps I could have helped prevent this."

"Hey now, don't go beating yourself up about it." Amy put a firm hand on Tekno's shoulder, not that it was there for long. As soon as she placed it there, Tekno turned around startled, pushing the hand away as she yelped in alarm. "Oh sorry, I forgot! My bad!"

Tekno started breathing heavily, only stopping as she forced herself to take deep breaths, calming herself down as best she could. Sonic didn't like people getting in his space either, but he couldn't imagine having that sort of reaction to it. "It's alright."

"Right. Well, like I was saying, don't be too down on yourself. You couldn't have known Eggman was going to try and take over the whole kingdom. Who could?"

"Perhaps. But the fact was that in some small way, I am still responsible for this. Nevermind what Eggman used it for. Something on such a scale on this should never have been built. But I suppose that I wanted to prove myself. That I was just as capable as anyone else. And look where it got us."

As Tekno continued her pity party, Sonic decided enough was enough. He couldn't let her wallow in guilt and self-loathing forever. "Hey, you made a mistake. It happens. I mean, I've made plenty of mistakes. Just about everything ever since I stepped foot on this island has been one mistake after another. But even so, the only thing to do is keep on runnin'! And get right back up when you fall. Long as you do that, you'll have nothin' to worry about!"

"I suppose." Tekno seemed to consider Sonic's words for a moment before her face broke out into a rare smile. "Thank you. Perhaps you are right." With that, she turned back to the plant. "In any event, we still have to deal with that. At the moment the plan is to await a signal from Johnny's squad before making our move. Once he contacts us, we'll each be moving to small vents on opposite sides of the building. Most would not be able to fit, but being Mobians, we should be able to squeeze in with ease."

"Cool." This was sounding fun already.

"After that, it is a matter of making our way to the control room and shutting the place down, as well as locking the controls so that it can't be turned on again. Or at least not easily. Of course it will not be a walk in the park by any stretch of the imagination. Which is where Johnny's squad comes in. With them distracting the majority of their forces, we should be able to speed to the room with minimal interference. Assuming that Eggman does not have anything up his sleeve."

Amy sighed. "Of course he does. He always does. Wouldn't be Eggman if he didn't."

"Hey, that just makes it more fun!" Sonic sprung up from where he had been sitting before stretching his legs, keeping himself nimble for what lay ahead. "Still though, this doesn't sound half-bad. We get in, shut it down, and get out while mowing down any badniks or stopping anyone who gets in our way. That about it?"

"Yes. Although finding the control room would under normal circumstances be nigh impossible given the size of the place. Thankfully, there is one more member of our party I neglected to mention." She pulled out a small device from her satchel. Upon closer inspection, it was Nicole's console. Just like Sally said.

Tekno quickly turned it on as a small holographic image of a lynx in a purple wraparound dress emerged from the screen, floating in place above as it yawned and stretched out its' arms. "Good morning, everyone!"

"You can thank Tails for that," said Tekno. "I may be proficient in the various sciences, but Tails is the one who made that possible."

"Hey there, Nicole!" Sonic gave Nicole a thumbs-up. He didn't know too much about holograms or just what was really going on with Nicole beyond the whole self-awareness thing, but he did know that she was just as valuable a friend and member of the group as anyone else. Regardless of whether or not she was a computer. "Lookin' good!"

Nicole blushed. "Why thank you. I wasn't too sure about choosing this particular outfit at first, but I believe it suits me best. Though it doesn't hurt that I don't have to walk in it."

"You got that right." Amy put down her hammer and yawned, stretching her arms like a sloth. "Wouldn't catch me dead wearing that. Shame though." Her eyes sparkled for the briefest of moments as she clasped her hands in adoration, her gaze fixated on Nicole's dress. "It's so pretty!"

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle a bit inside. Regardless of how much Amy had changed, there was still that crazy little girl deep inside. And every now and then it got a chance to come out. He wasn't sure how he felt about that. Still, being able to marvel at a dress regardless of everything that was going on was still a marvel in some way.

"Well, it's still a work in progress. As is I can't leave the console completely, nor interact with the rest of the world. But even being able to achieve this much is more than I could have hoped for."

"You can thank Tails for that. I may be proficient in the various sciences, but Tails is the one who made that possible." Tekno couldn't help but pass a glance at Nicole's dress before coughing and looking away as she tried to get back to the matter at hand.

"Right then. With Nicole fully booted, I believe we are about ready to begin. But before we do, let us make sure we all have this right. Firstly, Nicole will hack into the plant before we do anything else. Once she does, she'll attempt to shut down the plant's defence systems while using its' capabilities to stage a distraction of mythological proportions. That should give us as well as Johnny's team a chance to sneak in using the air ducts. Once inside, Nicole should be able to give us an outline of the plant's schematics. At the same time, Johnny and the others will be staging yet another distraction to keep everyone else busy while we make our way to the control room. Once there, it is only a matter of turning off the plant. As well as dealing with anyone in our way."

Now this was starting to sound fun. Sonic gave a thumbs up in approval. "Way past cool."

"You said it," said Amy. "Still, it's a bit crowded down there. Even with Nicole giving us a distraction, we might want to wait until it's thinned out a bit."

Tekno nodded in agreement. "Agreed. Although we cannot wait too long."

Waiting, huh? "Right. Well, you two let me know when we gotta move. I'm gonna take a quick nap. Can't be the fastest thing alive on an empty tank." Sonic fell back against the nearest tree, letting himself fall into a deep slumber as he became the fastest snorer alive. And when he woke up, then things would really get busy.


	65. Announcement

So I've kept thinking about my fanfic project and in the end, I've come to a hard decision. I don't think I'll be able to keep working on this anymore. It's not like I want to just give it up. After working on this for a year and a half with 60 chapters worth of material, it's hard to just let it go. But I'm just not as invested in it as when I started it. Part of starting this fanfic was to get some actual writing experience, but now that I have, I think I would have done it very differently if I had started it now. But at the end of the day, I just can't see myself finishing it.

That doesn't mean I'm just going to leave everyone who enjoyed it hanging though. The current plan is to polish up the timeline and my general plans. Once I do, I'll be getting it out there so everyone can at least see where I was going with all this. Hell, if anyone actually wants to do something with it, more power to them. (Just remember to credit me first.) But in terms of continuing to work on this as a series? That's just not going to happen.

Again, sorry everyone. But that's just how it is. Thanks to everyone who stuck it out this far.


	66. Sonic Blue Horizon Timeline

_As promised, here is the general timeline for Sonic Blue Horizon, including a broad outline of future events. Obioviously there's a lot this doesn't cover, but it still gives you the gist._

* * *

-Eggman takes over the Acorn Kingdom and the surrounding zones, namely the various zones in S1 and S2, thus turning this into a loose adaption of the first two games. Sonic and the Freedom Fighters go on various adventures and missions in these zones before finally driving Eggman off. But this is really just the beginning. (And Chuck gets robotized at some point.)

-During the latter days of Eggman's reign, he was busy doing work on a backup plan in case he somehow lost control of the region and to that end found out about the Little Planet, a mysterious small planet that shows up out of the blue once a month that also has strange time-warping capabilities. It also is home to the seven Time Stones, which when collected can grant power over all of time and space. With that in mind, he has his backup plan — two of them in fact — and as Sonic delivers the final blow to his killer robot aboard the Death Egg, Eggman presses the emergency escape button and takes off in a makeshift hovercraft, radioing his his remaining forces and ordering them to rendezvous at the Little Planet. Sonic and the FF follow his trail, and Sonic CD happens. At the end of it, Eggman nearly has his hands on the timestones before the FF intervene and cause a time-wimey mishap that blinks the stones out of existence. Cue Sonic trashing Eggman and Eggman seemingly perishing in a firey explosion. Eggman's finally gone, the day is saved, Sonic can resume his wanderings across Mobius, and all's well that ends well. Or Is It? (Also the Science Team takes Metal Sonic's remains and turns him into Shard who shortly thereafter joins the Freedom Fighters. Just an FYI.)

-Just as Sonic starts speeding away from the Acorn Kingdom, the Little Planet suddenly rematerializes above it and a squad of badniks and Swatbots beam in from out of nowhere, wrecking havok to the kingdom once more. Without Eggman to personally lead the troops, the FF have no problem giving them a good trashing, and when Sonic returns in short order, they make short work of them. Just then, a hologram of Eggman appears and pulls a Just Between You and Me. Turns out that they Never Found the Body and that Eggman was alive and well. No longer having Sonic and co on his back, and with time passing by more quickly on the Little Planet than it does on Mobius, he was able to harness the time-warping powers of the planet and conquer it, creating a mighty empire that could constantly be a threat to Mobius. The only thing stopping Eggman from unleashing unholy hell upon Mobius is that, well, he's on another planet. He either needs to send fleets down to Mobius or teleport them down, and he can't send everyone at once even with the time differential, so that gives Sonic and everyone else a fighting chance. But it also means that as long as Eggman's out there, Sonic needs to stick with the Freedom Fighters, because he doesn't really have any other choice.

-At some point, Eggman learns of the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald that are located upon the Floating Island, and aims to conquer it so that he can gain the Emerald's power for himself. Needless to say, Sonic 3 and Knuckles happens.

-Eggman keeps on attempting to conquer Mobius while the FF continues to stop him, along with dealing with other threats such as Mammoth Mogul, Team Hooligan, Scourge, Ixis Nagus, the Battle Kuku army, and the Destructix. Some of the spin-off games possibly happen in this time such as 3D Blast, Fighters, or Racing, but there's no guarantee. Knuckles Chaotix also happens in some form or another, thus introducing the Chaotix.

-At some point, Eggman decides on a change of pace and attacks the Federation, the part of the world where the humans live, finally giving Sonic and the FF a reason to explore that part of the world. There, they meet with both the President and GUN, ending up on good terms with the former and somewhat ambiguous terms with the latter. Soon after this, Sonic Adventure happens, with some changes to both accommodate the FF as well as to just allow for better storytelling

-As Eggman begins to wonder why he keeps losing despite having an entire Empire at his command, he harkens back to why he started all of this in the first place; to create a world where scientists were in charge and where they got the respect they deserved in honor of his grandfather Gerald Robotnik who, despite being considerably more moralistic and altruistic than Eggman would have liked, was nonetheless a truly great scientist who was ruined by the seedier part of GUN, who wanted to take the professor's research for themselves. (Or at least that's what Eggman tells himself. It's really all about him.) He begins reading through his Grandfather's diary and notes again to try and set himself back on track, but in the process discovers that not all of the professor's creations were destroyed. Cue Eggman freeing Shadow and SA2 happening. As said, there will be some alterations, but there isn't any one big one. It's mostly going to be little things together with more natural storytelling that will hopefully lead to a more cohesive and substantial narrative. Not to say that SA2's story was horrible, but it definitely needed some finetuning, and that's what it's gonna get here.

-After Shadow's noble sacrifice, we take a break from hedgehog angst in favor of a Sonic Battle adaptation, this time without Shadow being involved due to obvious reasons. It happens more or less as it did in the games, but again with some alterations, mainly due in part to everyone not having to fight each other every five seconds. Emerl seemingly goes bye-bye, and all's well that ends well. Or does it?

-After this, Sonic Heroes happens, only with the three-person team structure getting nixed in favor of just having the three groups of Freedom Fighters, Team Chaotix, and the premier of Team Dark. The biggest two changes happening here are that I'm also throwing in a bit of Sonic Advance 3, mainly with having Gemerl show up as Metal Sonic's second in command. (FYI, Eggman has made a new Metal Sonic in the original's absence.) Speaking of which, Metal Sonic, now redubbed Metal Overlord, also stays Metal Overlord at the end of the game, only without any of his fancy extra powers. He does keep the look while renaming himself Metallix, and rather than just going back to serving Eggman, he runs like hell and becomes a recurring villian. We also see the first appearance of Breezie, corrupt corporate executive extraordinaire, as Metallix tries to cut a deal with her only to be rebuffed. She tends to mostly stay in the background and let things play out, only maneuvering around situations to make the best of them, but she is willing to take a more personal approach if necessary with her personal duo of bodyguards: Biohazard and from Sonic the Comic. At the end of Sonic Heroes, Gemerl (who is without a doubt a refurbished Emerl here,) decides to go with Knuckles back to Angel Island, as while he's mostly back to normal, he's still lost much of his memory from prior to Sonic Battle, and has an instinctual feeling telling him that if he goes back there, he can discover much of his past. And boy, would he be proven right...

-Rather than moving straight on to Shadow The Hedgehog, we instead take a detour for a very loose adaptation of Sonic Chronicles. Honestly, it's more just inspired by it really. One important thing to note is that by this point, a researcher by the name of Pika has taken up residence on Angel Island along with Knuckles and Gemerl, as she feels that the island is a goldmine for archaeological research. Which it is. Anyhoo, Knuckles and co. are just minding their own business when, much to Knuckles' disbelief, an entire small platoon of Echidnas appears from out of nowhere and, for all intents and purposes, tries to kill him. Most of the Echidnas teleport back to wherever they came from, but they do manage to capture the ringleader; Julie-Su, also known as Shade. They learn of the Nocturnus Clan and their copius backstory, and realizing that this might be too much for just the two of them to handle, they call in Sonic and the FF. Cue a long and involved struggle between the FF and Nocturnus clan, though with the FF finally back on top and the Nocturnus clan being sealed in the Twilight Cage forevermore. Well, most of them. Julie-Su for one's pulled a Heel Face Turn by this point, but aside from her, Second in Command Lein-Da has managed to avoid get sealed back in along with a small army of Nocturnus Clan members, who begin making plans to take Mobius however they can. On top of that, the good Doctor Zachary Finitevius has also managed to elude capture, and he's got plans of his own...

-Quick notes on the Echidna's backstory here. To make a long story short, there are not one but two Echinda civilizations, the Knuckles and Noturnus clans, both of which are roughly equal to one another. However, the Sonic Adventure backstory happens, and most of the Knuckles clan is wiped out. A handful of clanmembers survived and sent Angel Island into the sky with the power of the Emeralds, and vowed to watch over them as Guardians to make sure nothing like this happened again. However, over time, they began to die out, and by the present day, Knuckles has become the last surviving member of the Knuckles clan. Simple, straight, and to the point. Other Knuckles clan members such as Locke can still appear in flashbacks or history lessons and whatnot, but Knuckles is still the only surviving member of his clan. But he is not the only surviving Echidna.

-In the absence of the Knuckles clan, the Nocturnus clan filled the void and began to dominate the world, creating marvels such as the Gizoids to do their bidding. However, as they were working on further experiments, they accidentally opened up a space-time rift which shunted them into another dimension known as the Twilight Cage, which they have remained to this day. Since then, the Nocturnus clan has become ever more technology driven and longs to return to Mobius to continue their conquest over the planet. They are currently ruled by Imperator Dimitri, his grandaughters Lein-Da and Julie Su (who also sometimes goes by Shade,) and Chief Scientist Doctor Zachary Finetivius, who has an agenda of his own. They have worked long and hard to return to Mobius, and now, their goal seems to finally be in reach. Or at least until Knuckles and co stop them.

-A broad re-imagining of Shadow The Hedgehog occurs. Important thing to note; unlike in the games, Shadow never lost his memory here. Instead he forms Team Dark with Omega and Rouge in the Sonic Heroes plot because Rouge is his friend and, after she saves him from being held captive by Eggman, he agrees to help her out. However, as of ShadowTheHedgehog, he still isn't sure just what path his life should take, and there are still lingering mysteries to his past that he had always wondered about. Things that didn't quite make sense. Including just the briefest of gaps in his memory right after he awakened in the SA2 backstory. But that will have to wait. Three alien races - the Black Arms, the Draconians from Sonic the Comic, and the Metarex from Sonic X - all suddenly show up on Earth at the same time, and while they all have been built up to in some way, this is the first time they all show up in person. Basically they've decided the cosmos isn't big enough for the three of them and decide to use Earth as a battleground in part due to sensing the Chaos and Master Emeralds there, as well as the Black Arms remembering that they have some unfinished business on Earth, mainly with Gerald Robotnik's creation. Shadow may not have full amnesia, but neither he was really there for just what happened ''before'' he woke up, which still gives the Arms a door in when it comes to manipulating Shadow, and thus still sets up a quest for identity. In the meantime, the world descends into a five-way battle between the Black Arms, the Draconians, the Metarex, the Eggman Empire, and everyone else. They all manage to fend the aliens off in the end, but not without the Earth taking some major damage, including the Acorn Kingdom...

In the wake of what will later be known as the Great War, the Acorn Kindgom has been devastated along with much of the rest of the world, though the good news is that this includes Robotnik and his empire on Little Planet. It's going to take a while for him to recuperate, which gives Mobius a chance to start getting back on its' feet. In the meantime, Sonic Rush starts, but rather than finding all of the Sol Emeralds within the span of a day, the emeralds wind up scattered all over the world after a bout of timey-wimey shannigans, and Blaze ends up trapped on in our dimension with no choice but to join the Freedom Fighters as she looks for the Emeralds. Also, Eggman Nega is from an alternate future like in Rivals, so in the meantime, that's where he's hiding out until Blaze and the others collect the Emeralds, upon which he plans on sidewinding them and taking them for himself. Why get them himself when he can have others do his dirty work?

-Around the same time, Silver also shows up, but rather than using his 06 plot, we'll be using the Archie version, where he claims that there's a traitor among the Freedom Fighters. (There is, or rather will be, but not in a way anyone thinks. Anyone who's read the comics should know where this is going.) He goes back and forth between his time and ours at first, but soon decides to stay in the present, both to find the traitor but also because he's realized he's kept mucking things up and wants to make amends. He eventually returns to his own time, much like Blaze and her own dimension, but he'll still be around for a while.

-06 happ— _{is shot}_ Yeeeaaah, let's just skip that one, shall we?

-Back to the plot, though this next arc coming up might take some explaining. (Including several paragraphs worth.) This arc is based on a storyline from the comics, including a major player who I really haven't mentioned until now: Goeffery St. John. He's a top secret agent skunk and eventually head of the Acorn Kingdom's intelligence division in the Archie comics, and up until Ian Flynn came along, that's all he was. Then Ian Flynn came along. Turns out that Geoffery had loathed the Acorn lineage ever since his father died when he was a child, blaming it on the King and holding him responsible. He considered Max unfit to rule, and longed for a ruler that was.

-In Goeffery's moment of hopelessness and despair, in comes Ixis Naugus, a powerful sorcerer and rival in ambitions to Eggman, who threw him into the Void/Special Zonein a bid to get rid of him. In spite of this, Naugus could still use his powers to speak to others beyond the Void, and senses Geoffery's loss and desperation. He discovers in Geoffery a most valuable pawn, one that, when the time was right, could not only free Ixis from the Void,(in this continuity,) but also help him gain the throne. Playing the broken and naive Geoffery like a fiddle, he manipulates him into becoming his apprentice. Goeffery vows to serve him, and later frees him from the Void with the Freedom Fighters being none the wiser. Ixus attempts to take over the Acorn Kingdom, but is driven off by the FF, and so decides to hang back for a while until the time is right. And as far as Naugus is concerned, there's no time like the present.

-After the Great War, the world is lost amidst a sea of confusion and fear, both being traits that Naugus intends to take full advantage of. With Geoffery's knowledge and insight into the kingdom, Naugus preys on the fears of the denizens of the Acorn Kingdom, using his magic to amplify their already present fears and concerns after the war and have them begging for anyone who can make things back the way they were. Sure enough, in comes Naugus on the scene, with Goeffery by his side. Max tries his best to get rid of Naugus, pointing out rightfully that he has no claim to the throne, but Naugus tells the worked up crowd that a king who let things get so far doesn't deserve to be king at all, and someone — anyone — who would put things back on track deserves to take his place. Just to be sporting, he has Max agree to hold a vote for who should rule the kingdom, who buckles under the pressure of the people.

-It's a close call, but ultimately, the people want Ixis. They want someone who claims that with his magic, he can make all of the kingdoms' problems go away overnight, even though he's not really capable of doing that. While Sonic and the FF could always just try to bounce him from the throne, they come to the conclusion that unless it's life or death, they can't go against the will of the masses. If they wanted to trade an actual decent rule for perceived safety, that was their prerogative. They see no choice but to let Naugus remain in power for the time being, not unless they wanted to face an angry mob. He's still evil, but he actually treats the residents of the Acorn Kingdom fairly well for the time being, and is so tied down in having to deal with recent events that he can't do anything all that terrible. But what happens when he's no longer bound? When he feels he can do whatever he wants both figuratively and literally? The answer is that the Acorn Kingdom will be in heck of a lot of trouble, more than it is already, and when the time comics, when the people have at last woken up from their fear and paranoia, the Freedom Fighters will finally be able to take down Naugus once and for all. But for now, there's nothing they can do but leave him and the Acorn Kingdom be.

—In the fallout of the Great War, chaos is still ensnaring the world, and the Federation is no exception. While they're not as badly off as the rest of the world, they've still got their own problems to deal with, including a scared and frightened populace and the more reactionary parts of the Government. Speaking of which, a member of said government, one Colonel Granite, is more reactionary than most. He's also a member of GUN and believes that in the wake of such a catastrophe, the Government should take a more radical and authoritarian approach to keep this sort of thing from happening again. To that end he stages a coup, rallying a good chunk of GUN to his side and begins making plans to take the President hostage. Luckily Team Dark has joined up with GUN by this point, and with the help of the Commander and the rest of GUN they manage to take him down and save the President. But regardless, none of this helps morale, even with the Government's attempts to spin it. The world spreads even further into chaos, prompting a certain albino Echidna to make his move...

-With the world edging ever closer to the brink, Doctor Zachary Finetivus decides this is the perfect time to enact his master plan. Mind you, he's already been planning it for a while now. In the aftermath of the Great War, Knuckles and everyone else was away from Angel Island to help with cleanup. During this time, Finetivus snuck onto Angel Island and began manipulating the Master Emerald, using a rather dark and twisted version of Tikal's chant to do so. ('The Seven Servers are the Chaos Emeralds' and all that.) His work done, he leaves the Island for the time being, with his manipulation of the Master Emerald being so perfect that even Knuckles can't tell anything was done to it.

-After Granite's failed coup,Finetivus returns to the floating island, trying to convince Knuckles that he's no longer part of the Nocturnus clan and wishes to change his ways. While it's true that he's left the clan, he hasn't changed his ways in the slightest, and promptly knocks out Knuckles when his back is turned. He hauls him atop the Master Emerald and using the same chant as before enfuses Knuckles with the power of the corrupted Emerald, turning him into a mighty being of near unlimited power called Enerjack. The corrupted Emerald energy doesn't just empower Knuckles, but it also warps his mind, convincing him that the only way to keep his island safe is to destroy anything and anyone that could possibly harm it. Which includes the entire planet. This is Finetivius' plan; to use Knuckles as Enerjack to cleanse the entire world which, as far as he's concerned, doesn't deserve to live, and then to remake it in his image. The Freedom Fighters, Chaotix, and Team Dark manage to stop Knuckles, and once he's free, he practically crucifies Finetvius and purifies the Master Emerald. Not that it matters. For Finetivus, grinning like a maniac, reveals his masterstroke.

-Turns out that Finetivus read up on Mobius, including its' agent Gods and legends. This included a rather powerful entity called Dark Gaia, who in ancient times nearly destroyed the entire planet. He researched ways to wake him up, and he eventually discovered that all it would take was unleashing an incredibly powerful being filled with unlimited but also evil energy. Simply creating him was all that was necessary to arouse the slumbering Dark Gaia's senses and cause him to begin to awaken. And begin to awaken he does...

-Sonic Unleashed happens, only rather than Eggman being responsible for cracking the planet apart, it's Finetivus turning Knuckles into Enerjack. By this point the Freedom Fighters have their own airship, the Sky Patrol, and they use it to travel around the ruined planet and help however they can. But it just isn't enough. The world was already on the brink of collapse as is, and now with the whole planet split apart, it's descended into complete and total anarchy. There are riots in the streets, governments are being toppled overnight, and the world in general is one giant metaphorical dumpster fire. The only saving grace is that Eggman is still out of commission, and that the Acorn Kingdom is surprisingly intact thanks to Nagus' magicks. But both of these are small comforts.

-Eventually the FF and others travel the world with Chip to find the Chaos Emeralds which were scattered over the world when the planet cracked, doing their best to restore order as they go. Of all the arcs I planned on doing, this one was probably going to take the longest, and it would likely be made up of several smaller arcs that composed one giant yarn. During this time, Eggman and his forces attempt to harness Dark Gaea's energy to replenish their recourses, but Sonic and co stop them and they're back to the drawing board. Eventually they manage to collect all of the Emeralds, restore Chip to his true form as Light Gaea, and seal Dark Gaea away, but the world order has been irrevocably changed. Just how it changes is something I'll only really know when I write the thing and the individual arcs that are a part of it, but what I do know is that even with order at least partially restored, there's still trouble coming. And it's a real Scourge all the same.

-After a long absence, Scourge at least renters the picture (though he's still shown up in various stories inbetween the main events,) and by this point has become the leader of the Destructix. At this point he decides to up the ante by attempting to take over the Acorn Kingdom, in part due to it and Knothole basically being Sonic's second homes by this point. However, things aren't so simple, as Lien-da and her cracksquad of Nocturnus Clan troops - redubbed the Legion for the time being - also decide to invade the kingdom, with the intent of using it as a stepping stone for world conquest. Mind you, they already tried to take advantage of the chaos during the Unleashed arc, but Sonic and the FF managed to stop them at every turn, so they've set their sights on the Acorn Kingdom as a last resort. The result is a threeway battle royale between Scourge, Lein-da, and Ixus Naugus, who is much more concerned with destroying the invaders than protecting the citizens. When it becomes clear that Naugus only cares about the throne and doesn't give a whit for the kingdom or its' people, they finally open their eyes and start an armed revolt. By the time the FF show up, the battle's already gotten well underway, but they do their best to help out and keep anyone else from getting hurt. They manage to drive the Legion off and trounce Scourge, and with the people's support, they're at last able to unthrone Ixus Nagus. However, Naugus isn't going down without a fight, not that it matters as the FF manage to take him down regardless. They throw him back into the Void, (not sure what happens to Geoffery,) and Max becomes the rightful king of the Acorn Kingdom once again, though not without some lessons learned about the balancing act that is ruling a kingdom.

-By this point, not only have the FF found all of the Sol Emeralds, but they've also used the combined talents of their more scientifically inclined members to open a portal back to Blaze's dimension. At first it seems like all's well that ends well as Blaze bids her friends goodbye, but without warning, Eggman Nega swoops in at the last minute and tries to take the Emeralds for himself. The ensuing struggle results in Blaze, Eggman Nega, and some of the FF all being hurled into Blaze's dimension before the Emeralds get scattered again, but this time, they're not so far apart, so they'll be a lot easier to find. But they still need to get them before Eggman Nega does, who intends to get them first. To that end, he calls in his servants Captain Whiskers and Johnny, and Sonic Rush Adventure happens. And just to make things a bit more complicated, there's an air pirate called Captain Plunder who manages to find a Sol Emerald by chance, and from then on tries to get the rest for himself. In the end Eggman Nega is defeated and sent packing to his own dimension and time, and Blaze at last bids her friends farewell, though not before they build a portal on her side so she can visit them at any time.

-By this point our Eggman has finally gotten back on his feet, and has used his forced vacation to come up with a brand new scheme. He creates a World Robotization Wave that's set to turn all of Mobius into his loyal roboticized slaves, and the only thing stopping him is that he needs to activate the device that would enable it on Mobius itself, never mind the startup time. Sonic and the FF are able to stop him, but not without a Heroic Sacrifice on Sally's part. She manages to deactivate the wave, but not without being hit by a small explosive burst from it, one which she knew was probably going to happen. Princess Sally, the leader of the Freedom Fighters, is robotized, and Eggman is all too happy to hear this. They try to take Sally back with them, but to no avail, and they have no choice but to leave her be for now. As it turns out, Sally was the 'traitor', coming over to Eggman's side but not of her own volition. However, even though he now knows the truth, Silver still stays in the past for a while longer, because he can't just leave Sally to her fate.

-Eggman may have gotten Sally, but he's having problems coming up with a new plan. As if in answer to his prayers, a black and blue hedgehog calling himself Mephiles the Dark shows up on his doorstep. He tells him of the lost Hex, the Zeti, and the Deadly Six, and hands him the Cacophonic Conch, an apparently ancient and mysterious device which can force the Six to do his bidding. Eggman doesn't trust Mephiles for a minute, but he feels this is too good an opportunity to pass up. He takes the conch and heads for the Lost Hex, and it seems like things are finally going in his favor. (Which couldn't be further from the truth.)

-Meanwhile, the Freedom Fighters are reeling at the loss of Sally, but are eventually able to pull themselves together and vow to get her back. However, they know they need a new leader, at least for the time being, and so they put it to a vote. The votes come in, and the winner is someone no-one saw coming; Amy Rose. Even Amy's not sure what to make of this, but as Sonic tells her, she's been through a ''lot'' of Character Development by this point and has become a lot more like her badass SonicTheComic self, who was often the de facto leader of the FF in that continuity. She's more than ready to take the reigns at this point. But just after Amy is elected, Mephiles arrives in Knothole, and tells them all about Eggman's plans to use the Deadly Six to try and conquer the world. They trust him even less than Eggman did, but they've no choice but to see if he just might be telling the truth.

-Sonic Lost World happens, though after Eggman's beaten, Mephiles shows up and tells them the truth. He is the corruption in the Master Emerald that Finetivus created. While Knuckles managed to purify the Emerald, the corruption was never truly erased. Instead it was ousted from the Emerald and spirited away to parts unknown, but it eventually gained sapience, becoming a being of pure darkness known as Mephiles the Dark. It also possessed knowledge of a great many things, including the Hex and the Deadly Six, and it also created the Cacophonic Conch out of a piece of itself. And it was also sure that if it threw the FF at Eggman, they would enable the Deadly Six to not only break free, but also have a means of flat out destroying the Earth. And when asked why he did all of this, he says he did it simply because he could. The Freedom Fighters fend him off, but they honestly can't do much against him right now, and he says that one day, when they're least expecting it, he'll be back. (No clue if he ever will be back though. We'll see.)

-Around this time, the crew learn about Silver's rather dystopia future, or at least in more detail than previously. While not a barren wasteland, it's still a crappy place to live, and Silver came back to change it. Going through various journals and the like, he thought that there would be a 'traitor' in the Freedom Fighters that would end the world and create this dystopia, and after searching so long, he thinks he finally found it; Sally. At the end of Lost World, with Eggman unconsciousness, Sally manages to regain the conch and use it control the Six with the intention of wrecking havok on the word in Eggman's name. With this, Silver manages to put everything together. In his past, there was a great calamity caused by several vicious creatures being unleashed on the world, and the 'traitor' was responsible for it. The world is able to stop them, but at a heavy cost. The survivors of this tragedy then work together to create a new utopia, but it soon turns into a hellish dystopia where the people are abused and trampled upon by the Council, and where no-one has any real rights. And Sally is ultimately responsible for it all. Now knowing what he needs to do, he TK's the conch right out of her hands and uses his powers to destroy it, preventing Sally from causing this future to come to pass. Back on Earth, his future seemingly made a better place, Silver vows to return to his home and make sure it stays that way, though he'll never forget the Freedom Fighters and his adventures on Mobius. And he does so, saying goodbye to the team for what he believes to be the last time. He would be so very, very wrong.

-As it turns out, just seconds after the FF starts to leave, Silver comes back with scratches and marks on his face. What could be the answer to this? Simple. It didn't work. Turns out that Silver's future is fixed. No matter what he does, something or another will occur in Sonic and co's future to turn it into a post-apocalyptic dystopia, and there seems to be nothing he can do about it. However, Sonic and co have a different solution; travel with him to his future and change his present. Silver's hesitant to get them involved at first, but they point out that he made himself involved with them in the first place. Humbled (or at least more than he already has been), Silver agrees to come along, and they all go Back to the Future (TM) to make said future and Silver's present a better place. And they do. While meeting other colorful characters such as or Gold the Tenric of course. When they're finally done, Silver decides not to stay in his future, but instead goes back to the Sonic's present. As much as he just wants to stay in his present, he feels that Sally still needs his help, and so returns to the past once more until Sally is finally free for good.

-After getting duped by Mephiles and after Eggman's blunder nearly destroyed Mobius, the FF decides enough is enough. They've had it with just sitting around waiting for the next time Eggman or someone else tries to conquer or even destroy the planet. With the support of GUN, Team Dark, Knuckles and co., the Chaotix, and Blaze, they launch a mighty offensive against the Little Planet, with the hope of also getting Sally back. It's a long and brutal struggle, but at long last, they manage to get Sally back and defeat Eggman once and for all. Or do they?

-Sonic CD returns to bite everyone in the ass. As it turns out, the Time Stones weren't destroyed; they were just shunted to the present. At last, Eggman gets his hands on them and uses them rewrite time itself, creating a world where he had always been the Supreme Leader of Mobius. However, there's one little problem. After Sonic Unleashed, the Freedom Fighters had kept on to the Chaos Emeralds, as they never knew when they might come in handy. And as it turns out, they did. Using the power of the Emeralds, the FF were able to shield themselves along with Knuckles and co., the Chaotix, and Team Dark from the effects of the Time Stones and remain completely intact. Thanks to that, they have one last chance to Set Right What Once Went Wrong and take Eggman down once for all. (This is loosely based on a Sonic The Comic storyline called Robotnik Reigns Supreme by the way, and it's as awesome as it sounds.)

-And that's it. At long last, Eggman's finally defeated. They sadly can't derobotize Sally, but they are able to restore her free will, and that's what's important. Reality is restored to normal, the Little Planet is able to finally disappear back from whence it came, and peace is at last restored. However, Sonic never really lost his wanderlust, so with the world finally at peace, he at long last decides to resume his journeys over the planet once more, but not without telling everyone with complete sincerity that he will be back.


End file.
